UMBC and the Universidad de Piura (UDEP) signed a new academic agreement on June 30, 2017, representing the first such partnership between UMBC and an institution of higher education in Peru. This agreement formalizes emerging collaborations between UMBC’s master’s program for teaching English as a second language (TESOL) and UDEP’s Centro de Idiomas (Language Center).

The two universities seek to share TESOL methodologies and best practices, and to benefit from opportunities for cross-cultural exchange. The agreement enables UMBC TESOL students and alumni to provide English language instruction at UDEP, while improving their Spanish language skills and knowledge of Latin American culture. It also outlines plans for visiting scholars to present academic talks or organize international symposia at each of the partner institutions.

Antonio Moreira, vice provost for academic affairs, signed the agreement on behalf of UMBC in UMBC’s Fireside Lounge and UDEP Rector Sergio Antonio Balarezo Saldaña participated by live video feed.

Jonathan Singer, associate professor and chair of education; Doaa Rashed, M.A. ’08, TESOL, TESOL director and Ph.D. candidate in language, literacy, and culture; and Mary Tabaa, TESOL instructor, also attended on behalf of UMBC. Additional witnesses included Maryland Deputy Secretary of State Luis E. Borunda; Mary Nitsch, M.A. ’99, TESOL, director of international affairs for the Maryland Office of the Secretary of State; Consul General of Peru in Washington, D.C. Ana Cecilia Gervasi (who has since become consul general in Toronto, Canada); and Susana Vegas, director of international relations for UDEP, as well as Madelaine Pella Schwartz, M.A. ’10, TESOL, chair of the Maryland–Piura Sister State partnership‘s Education Committee.

“For us this is a very special moment, because this is the first palpable result of collaborations we have started with the state of Maryland…through a sister state partnership,” said Gervasi.

Rector Balarezo Saldaña also reflected on the potential of this new relationship, noting specifically (through Schwartz as translator), “This collaboration is the beginning of a partnership that will create more opportunities for development.”

Indeed, for Moreira, one of the deep similarities between UMBC and UDEP is how embedded each university is in its home community. Moreira described the new agreement as not just an exciting collaboration in and of itself, but also as the first building block in a new relationship that could expand to include programs from environmental science to engineering.

Speaking directly to Rector Balarezo Saldaña, Moreira shared, “There is a lot that we can do together. Hasta siempre.”

Additional coverage of the signing ceremony is available through UDEP and the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores of Peru.

Featured image includes UMBC’s Tony Moreira (center), surrounded by partnership organizers and honored guests from the U.S. and Peru. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Critically Acclaimed Victorian Troupe "Phantasmagoria" is looking for a "guest" actor for their upcoming production of "Wickedest Tales of All" at Baltimore Theatre Project.

Needed are (1) Boy or Girl, aged 10 - 12 for a 5 minute scene at the beginning, and a possible re-entrance at the end of the show.

If interested, please contact the director at jdidonna@bellsouth.net

Critically Acclaimed Victorian Troupe "Phantasmagoria" is looking for a "guest" actor for their upcoming production of "Wickedest Tales of All" at Baltimore Theatre Project.

Needed are (1) Boy or Girl, aged 10 - 12 for a 5 minute scene at the beginning, and a possible re-entrance at the end of the show.

If interested, please contact the director at jdidonna@bellsouth.net

Every day, people interact with large amounts of text online, including legal documents they might quickly skim and sign without full, careful review. In an article recently published in The Conversation, Karuna Joshi, research associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering, and Tim Finin, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, explain how artificial intelligence (AI) is helping to summarize lengthy and complex legalese so people can more easily understand terms of service and similar agreements before they click “accept” to access a new app or online service.

The legal documents that Joshi and Finin are working to summarize—terms of service, privacy policies, and user agreements—often accompany new online services, contests, apps, and subscriptions. “As computer science researchers, we are working on ways artificial intelligence algorithms could digest these massive texts and extract their meaning, presenting it in terms regular people can understand,” they explain.

Through their research, Joshi and Finin ask computers to break down the terms and conditions that regular users “agree” to or “accept.” To process the text, Joshi and Finin employ a range of AI technologies, including machine learning, knowledge representation, speech recognition, and human language comprehension.

Joshi and Finin have found that in many of the privacy policies people are prompted to review and accept online, there are sections that do not actually apply to the consumer or service provider. These sections of the agreements might, for example, “include rules for third parties…that people might not even know are involved in data storage or retrieval,” they note.

After examining these documents, the software Joshi and Finin have developed pinpoints specific items that people should be aware of when they are granting their consent or agreement—what they describe as “key information specifying the legal rights, obligations and prohibitions identified in the document.” In other words, the software takes in all that complex legal language, and then then presents just the most essential information in “clear, direct, human-readable statements,” making it much more feasible for users to understand what they are consenting to before they click “agree.”

Read “Teaching machines to understand — and summarize — text” in The Conversation to learn more about Joshi and Finin’s approach to making online legal documents more accessible through AI.

Adapted from a UMBC News article by Megan Hanks Banner image: Karuna Joshi. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

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