Fulbright project sparks international collaboration in speech, language, and hearing sciences
Moody College of Communication faculty always make an impact inside their classrooms but often their work extends far beyond The University of Texas.
Recently, Rajinder Koul, department chair and professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, received a Fulbright Specialist Award to complete a project at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The award allowed him to complete extensive research throughout the summer alongside the university’s speech, language, and hearing researchers and students.
This award recognizes Koul’s professional achievements, leadership, and potential to build lasting international collaboration between U.S. and global institutions.
Read on to hear what Koul had to say about his experience, what he was able to accomplish and how he will continue building upon the important work that’s just getting started.
What type of work did you do while at Stellenbosch University?
While at Stellenbosch University, I was able to provide feedback on research methodology for speech, language and hearing-related projects conducted by their faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and doctoral and master’s students. I had the chance to meet individually with nine faculty members, three post-doctoral fellows and eight Ph.D. students. I also delivered two seminars: “Demystifying the evidence pyramid: A clinician's guide to experimental and non-experimental research” and “Efficacy of high technology augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in people with chronic severe aphasia.” I’m proud to say that they were well received by the audience! Everyone especially appreciated the focus on the use of evidence-based assistive technologies in facilitating communication in individuals with limited to no speech and language.
Beyond research mentoring, I provided feedback on the university’s undergraduate curriculum and visited five of their clinical sites. Additionally, I was grateful to have detailed discussions with Dr. Berna Gerber, Head of the Division of Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy, regarding the department’s strategic plan, undergraduate and graduate curricula and strategies to enhance research productivity among faculty and graduate students. Finally, I collaborated with Professor Juan Bornman to discuss research conducted in her AAC laboratory and explored opportunities for joint peer-reviewed publications and grant applications.
It sounds like you were able to collaborate with several like-minded researchers toward the common goal of helping others communicate. Can you describe some of the outcomes of your project?
My primary accomplishment was laying the roots for collaborative relationship between Stellenbosch University and The University of Texas at Austin! I’m also proud of the feedback and comments I was able to provide on theses, dissertations, and faculty-initiated research projects.
It was particularly gratifying to have conversations with clinicians related to the use of augmentative and alternative communication techniques and aids in extremely challenging environments.
What’s next? Will the work with Stellenbosch University continue even though you’re back in Austin?
I will continue to collaborate with both faculty and graduate students at Stellenbosch University on research projects while also looking into student and faculty exchange opportunities both in South Africa and the United States to facilitate further collaboration. I’ve also offered to serve as the external examiner for thesis and dissertation projects and to mentor graduate students, and I plan to share my presentations with clinicians from associated hospitals so that they can consult with me regarding treatment issues.
Dr. Gerber and I will continue working on building research capacity in her department by focusing on strengthening key research focus areas so that the department emerges as a national and continent leader. Finally, I plan to initiate a program that will involve exchange of doctoral students between the two universities.
