With the award of a Global Research Partnership grant, the University of Iowa Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) department plan to partner with doctors in Ethiopia to form a program to promote global women’s health.

by Jonathan Moed, Forbes. In my time traveling around the world to learn about global startup ecosystems, I have been struck by the quantity and quality of successful businesses I’ve come across whose origin story started with members of its founding team studying or working abroad, and in some cases, whose business model was directly inspired by experiences that occurred during a founder’s time abroad. I set out to uncover what’s behind this trend, and how going abroad can impact business creation and development. Here’s what I’ve learned, including examples of high-growth startups I have encountered throughout my travels.

My name is Taylor Wertheim. I am a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in Italian, International Studies: East Track, and minoring in Korean. This year I decided to take a big leap outside of my comfort zone and study abroad in Seoul, South Korea.

Anibal Mares Marquez talks about his experience studying abroad in Italy with the CIMBA program.

Nearly 70 University of Iowa students completed summer internships in their fields of interest. Impressive to be sure, but even more notable is the fact they completed these internships abroad—allowing them to not only gain relevant, global experience, but also to strengthen their intercultural communication skills, build confidence and adaptability, and in many cases, become more proficient in a foreign language. These internships were coordinated through the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES). IES is the international internship provider for the UI and the partnership has seen tremendous success, growing over 40 percent from the first summer in 2016 to the summer of 2018.

Seven of the 21 Iowa field-hockey players are thousands of miles away from the place they call home.

Hundreds of University of Iowa students spent their summer completing internships in their chosen fields of interest. However, a smaller group of nearly 70 took their experiences to the next level by completing internships abroad—allowing them to gain relevant, global experience while strengthening their intercultural communication skills, building confidence and adaptability, and becoming more proficient in a second language. Internships abroad are coordinated through IES Internships, a unit of the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES Abroad). IES Abroad is the international internship provider for the UI; student participation in the partnership has grown more than 40 percent since summer in 2016. This past summer, 69 UI students interned in 11 cities around the world through IES Internships.

A marketing and public relations internship with a small start-up company in Paris translated to work experiences that extend beyond typical “intern” duties for Taylor Odekirk, a marketing and journalism student from Waterloo, Iowa. Odekirk worked at Archive Valley, an online platform that connects people with archive resources from around the world. “A highlight of my internship was researching for the launch of Archive Valley’s public relations campaign,” said Odekirk.  She found journalists, news outlets, magazines, and blogs that reach Archive Valley’s target audience of documentary filmmakers and content creators. She also had the opportunity to work with a freelance PR professional who helped her create story pitches and a press release to be used in the campaign.

The South Asian Studies Program will present a lecture by University of Iowa professors Dr. William Story and Dr. Kelly Baker entitled "Infants, Mothers, and Water" on Thursday, September 13, from 4:30-6 p.m. in UCC 2390 (Executive Boardroom).  This event is free and open to the public.

Chris Orabutt traveled to South Korea two months ago to teach middle school English as part of the Fulbright program.