Beginning this week, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Asia are just a click apart.
The Carolina Asia Center (CAC) at UNC recently released the Carolina Asia Map, an interactive map and searchable database. The map aims to provide a comprehensive list of every connection between Asia and UNC-Chapel Hill. Users can search study abroad programs, faculty partnerships, research collaborations and more by country, city, partner institution and UNC department.
The map has been years in the making. Morgan Pitelka, professor of Asian studies, first envisioned the map when he became director of the Carolina Asia Center in 2013. Compiling, sorting and mapping the data took more than a year after the initial work began.
“We are delighted to offer this resource to the Carolina community,” said Thupten Norbu, interim director of the Carolina Asia Center. “We hope this initiative will serve as a one-stop database to learn about UNC’s collaborations in Asia and strengthen our collective understanding of and involvement with Asia.”
Above all, the CAC intends the Carolina Asia Map to be a collaborative project. A link beneath the map allows users to suggest corrections or submit new programs. As members of the Carolina community contribute their knowledge, the map will become a more thorough and helpful resource.
Special thanks go to Brittany Darst, CAC program associate; Amanda Henley, head of digital research services at UNC University Libraries; Cherish Khang, support developer at ITS Digital Services; and Helen Jiang, CAC intern and senior at East Chapel Hill High School. Their expertise and assistance made this project possible.
Story courtesy of UNC Global.
