Chris Zirkle, emeritus associate professor of workforce development and education in the College of Education and Human Ecology, has been awarded a 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Specialist award to Mauritius to research “Certificate in Polytechnics Training and Assessment (CiPTA).”
In October 2026 and January 2027, Zirkle will be working with the Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd (PML), a state-owned enterprise focused on higher technical education, to develop a Certificate in Polytechnics Training and Assessment (CiPTA). The program is designed to equip technical instructors and trainers with structured methodologies, tools and assessments that build the instructional capacity of faculty at Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd.
The Fulbright project hopes to ensure that Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd. instructors and trainers are professionally certified, capable of delivering high-quality technical education, and aligned with both local and international best practices.
“I hope to develop a competency-based framework and teacher training guide for the Certificate in Polytechnics Training and Assessment, as well as build the capacity of PML trainers and lecturers through workshops and a Train-the-Trainer program,” Zirkle explained. “Also, I want to create a continuous development framework for assessing and monitoring teacher skills and capabilities for those teaching technical subjects.”
Zirkle’s international journey at Ohio State began over 20 years ago, and he continues to use his experiences to improve his research and teaching abilities. Zirkle is a four-time Fulbright award recipient. His first Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Finland was canceled due to the pandemic in autumn 2020. Zirkle was re-awarded as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Finland for the autumn of 2021 at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. In 2025 he was awarded as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). His fourth Fulbright is his first Fulbright U.S. Specialist award.
Fulbright Specialist Program
The Fulbright Specialist Program is administered by World Learning and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.
For more information about the Fulbright Specialist Program at Ohio State, contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser.
