Presenter Bios
Edward R. (Randy) Collins, Jr. is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University. He is currently the Chair of the Executive Committee of the IIE Global Engineering Education Exchange (Global E3) program, and has been an active member representing Clemson since 2008. Randy has served as a Associate Dean for Undergraduate and International Studies in Clemson’s College of Engineering and Science (2008-2014), Executive Director for Academic Initiatives (since 2014), Associate Vice President for Clemson’s Charleston-based campus from 2016-2019, and Interim Executive Director for the Dominion Energy Innovation Center from 2019-2021. His research focus is in electric power and energy. Randy earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Council on Education and is a licensed professional engineer. He is an avid pilot, and has commercial and airline transport pilot licenses in addition to flight instructor and remote pilot certifications.
Sylvia Jons is Lead on the Higher Education Initiatives team at IIE and also serves as a Manager in IIE’s Center for International Partnerships. She oversees IIE’s Centennial Fellowship, IIE’s New Leaders Award, IIE’s Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East and other initiatives, fellowships and projects in the global higher education space. Sylvia also leads Global STEM and Engineering Education initiatives at IIE including the IIE Global E3 and the IIE-GIRE (Graduate International Research Experiences) Fellowship. At IIE, Sylvia has developed a career working in various roles throughout the institute. She has worked on IIE’s Generation Study Abroad initiative, on the Global Fulbright Program, the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program and on two private STEM programs within the U.S. Student Programs Division. Prior to joining IIE in 2012, Sylvia worked at the University of Nebraska on a system-wide Internationalization plan. Sylvia has a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration with a focus on Internationalization. She studied abroad at Korea University and extended her stay in Korea working with the Asian Pacific Association of International Education. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising with an emphasis in Public Relations from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.