INCHE Africa Gatherings in November 2023

During 2023, INCHE member teams in ten African Christian universities have focused on a professional development initiative concerning the education of Redemptive Change Agents. Through reading, small group discussions, and completion of two online modules they have probed the goals of Christian education, the challenge of sin, and the promise of redemptive hope.

The ten teams are from: Akademie Reformatoriese Opleiding en Studies, Bowen University, Christian Service University College, Daystar University, Melchisedec Graduate Bible Academy, Mountain Top University, Pan Africa Christian University, Uganda Christian University, the University of Mkar, and Vision Bible College. With the guidance of African coaches, Abraham Waigi and Stephen Nduto, in the last week of November these teams will meet each other in person and present the results of their learning. Please pray for effective meetings. A further description of this initiative is available at https://inche.one/events. 

Latin American Conference November 3, 2023

Participants and Speakers from around the world met virtually on November 3 to discuss various topics pertaining to the Protestant church in Latin America. This was the 8th Latin American Conference the INCHE has put on. Thanks to Fernando Bullon for his work in organization and promotion.

Christian Faith and STEM Webinar

Over 80 participants from all over the world registered to listen to panelists reflect on teaching faithfully in STEM with David I. Smith, Director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning. David I. Smith’s award-winning 2018 book On Christian Teaching challenged instructors to consider how Christian faith can inform not only the content of our teaching, but also our pedagogical choices. Several faculty members from two universities subsequently considered how faith should shape their teaching in STEM fields such as biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and nursing, resulting in a co-authored journal article. What challenges were posed for them as Christian teachers? How are they attempting to answer them in their teaching? What is the Christian rationale behind their pedagogical choices?

INCHE supports Research Methodology Conference with Madras Christian College at CSI College of Engineering

In September, 2023 INCHE partnered with Madras Christian College for a workshop equipping researchers with a solid foundation on integrity in research, scientific writing and manuscript publishing.  Each lecture included interesting insights along with hands-on sessions in the various nuances of scientific writing and publishing.  The band of resource persons from across academic disciplines helped the participants through one-to-one discussion sessions during the program. 

MOAs Signed in India

On September 1-7, a remarkable and immediate follow-up occurred after the June 2023 INCHE Asia Oceania conference in Korea. Mr. Sungmin Kim, Director of the Office of International Affairs for Handong Global University, visited several INCHE India members in the cities of Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Vellore, India. He also talked with additional Christian colleges in India that actively are considering INCHE membership.

The culmination of the week was signing a formal Memorandum of Understanding between Handong Global University and India’s Christian colleges that are affiliated with INCHE.

Thank you to Daniel Ezhilarasu for his involvement and enthusiasm, and for the wonderful photos!

INCHE Asia-Oceania conference in Pohang, South Korea: A Great Occasion!

On June 20-22, 2023, INCHE Asia-Oceania conference hosted by Handong Global University in Pohang, Korea occurred. The theme of Christian Scholars: Forming Identity, Building Community was carried out through plenary addresses, multiple concurrent sessions, times of worship, and networking over meals. The INCHE Asia-Oceania conference was open to both INCHE members and guests. They arrived from multiple nations with strong interest from Australia, India, Indonesia, and USA. Handong Global University welcomed participants worldwide who sought to be informed, connected, and equipped as Christian academic leaders. INCHE members can find pictures and a video link on the INCHE-member Facebook page found here:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087328756274 .  

INCHE Africa Initiates its 2023 Project

INCHE announces its 2023 African professional development initiative, Preparing Redemptive Change Agents. Through professional learning circles, faculty teams from ten African Christian universities will develop Biblical, theological, and practical understandings of redemptive change agency as well as its teaching and learning within their universities. The goal is to deepen the ability of faculty members to train graduates in understanding their identity, role, and skills as wise Christian agents for change in their societies.

Two African coaches, Abraham Waigi Ng’ang’a and Steve Nduto will guide the university teams. Abraham Waigi is an instructor at Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission, and Culture in Ghana. He also is a research fellow at Liverpool Hope University’s Andrew Walls Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity. Steve Nduoto is a professor of religion at Daystar University in Kenya and previously served there for thirteen years as the university chaplain. Both coaches will support the university professional learning circles.

Abraham Waigi Ng’ang’a & Steve Nduto

During the project year, selected university teams will read and discuss the book, Developing Redemptive Change Agents, and complete two professional development modules offered online through the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development (Calvin University). Then they will each create a substantial presentation on their learning and implications for their university. The teams will meet in November 2023 to share the results of their efforts as professional learning circles.

INCHE is grateful to a foundation that seeks to remain anonymous for funding this 2023 project.

Upcoming Asia-Oceania Regional Conference

The INCHE Asia-Oceania conference titled: CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS: FORMING IDENTITY, BUILDING COMMUNITY will be held on June 20th - 22nd, 2023 with Handong Global University, in Pohang, South Korea.

Registration will open January 15th, 2023.

Concurrent paper and presentation proposals should be submitted through the conference portal by January 31, 2022 on the Google form available there.

Further conference information can be found at: https://inche.one/inche-asiaoceania-conference-2023

INCHE/Kuyers Institute North America Conference October 6-7, 2022

Registration is ongoing for the INCHE/Kuyers fall 2022 in-person conference on the Calvin University campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday, October 6, through Friday evening, October 7. The rapid pace of change in the educational environment has accelerated in recent years. It is fueled by factors such as health and safety, shifts to online learning, political polarization, challenges to civil discourse, shifting demographics, ambiguous student identities, and increased needs for student and faculty support. Together we will explore how Christian educators can respond constructively. How will we retain a focus on intentionally Christian educational processes in an unstable environment? A description of plenary speakers, the conference schedule, and links to registration are available at https://calvin.edu/centers-institutes/kuyers-institute/news-events/conference-2022/.

INCHE Latin America Announces Recent Publications

INCHE Latin America, also known as RIESC, is pleased to announce the publication of two outcomes from its December 2020 online conference. The Spanish-language publication of Universidad Christiana Renovada, Semper Reformanda Est as well as an English-language special issue of the Journal of Latin American Theology titled “Higher Education, Christian Identity, and Public Impact in Latin America” (Vol. 17, No. 1, 2022) are now available. Copies can be purchased by emailing office@inche.one. The final statement at the conclusion of the December 2020 can be read here.

Finally: The INCHE Europe Conference Occurs!

On April 6-8 INCHE Europe members from thirteen countries met in Budapest for a joyful and informative professional development gathering. After two years of pandemic postponements, Károli Gáspár University, our INCHE member in Hungary, hosted this occasion for Christian educators from across and beyond greater Europe. Together, we explored Building Community in Fractured Societies: Challenges for Christians in Higher Education.

Plenary speakers included Dr. Govert Buijs, Abraham Kuyper Chairholder at the Vrije Universitiet; Dr. Jószef Pálfi, rector of Partium Christian University, Romania; and Dr. Claudia Beversluis, Professor of Psychology and Provost Emeritus, Calvin University. They provided analyses and reflections at the macro, meso, and micro levels related to current fracturing and educational rebuilding of Christian faith, identity, and service. Other conference participants offered scholarly presentations during concurrent breakout sessions to explore educational diversity, citizenship, and community building as well as institutional practices. The rector of the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences provided a substantial conference presentation about her institution in Bucha, Ukraine, and its very recent challenges.

Additional pictures from the conference are posted on the INCHE Facebook page, accessible by INCHE members. In mid-year 2023, articles based in the conference will be published in the International Journal of Christianity and Education.

Calvin University Announces a New President

INCHE member, Calvin University, announced its new president on March 29, 2022. The Calvin University Board of Trustees approved Dr. Wiebe Boer as the 11th president. After a rigorous international search, Dr. Boer emerged as the clear choice of the search committee thanks to his deep Christian commitment, his excellent academic qualifications, and his extensive international experience in the private and non-profit sectors.

Boer was born and raised in Jos, Nigeria by Christian Reformed missionary parents. He completed his elementary and secondary education at Hillcrest School in Jos. Then he graduated from Calvin College (now University) in 1997 and is married to Joanna Bachew, from Trinidad & Tobago, who graduated from Calvin in 2003.

Wiebe Boer majored in history as a Calvin undergraduate; and he then completed a doctoral degree in history from Yale University. He has worked as a consultant for McKinsey and Company as well as the Boston Consulting Group. Currently, Wiebe Boer serves as CEO of Shell–All On, a renewable energy investment company, in Lagos, Nigeria.

You can learn more about Wiebe Boer by clicking this link.