Dear all,
As incredible as it seems, we have reached the halfway point of 2024. It’s been a good year for International Programs (IP) to this point, and I’m excited to tell you about the latest developments in our unit.
I should start by saying that summer is a busy time in IP because much of our activity centers around travel, particularly in the realm of study abroad. Summer is by far the most popular moment for outbound student mobility. At Iowa, we are sending 465 students abroad to 45 countries. The variety of disciplines covered is vast, ranging from business, sustainability, public health, law, education, and language and culture. Many of the Hawkeyes currently abroad have signed up for internships whose purpose is to provide practical work experience that will advance their career goals.
University of Iowa (UI) Study Abroad has achieved pre-pandemic levels due to the curiosity and global awareness of our students, as well as the hard work of IP’s Study Abroad advisors to prepare our students for their time overseas. As we extend gratitude to our Study Abroad team, we also wish to thank our many friends and donors for their generous support in providing Hawkeyes with global opportunities they would not have otherwise.
One of the most important international destinations for UI students is Spain, which continually vies with Italy as the leader in program popularity. I was fortunate to spend a week in Spain (June 8-16) as part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Senior International Officer (SIO) Professional Development Program Field Experience. Some of you may know that I am the current chair of the BTAA SIO group, meaning that I help to guide and facilitate joint programming for global engagement within the Big Ten Academic Alliance. As chair, part of my focus has been staff development. Each year, the BTAA SIO group sponsors a trip for staff across our sister institutions to see first-hand how global operations such as study abroad, safety, logistics, communications, and international partnerships are organized and conducted.
This year’s cohort visited two destinations, Barcelona and Alicante. Highlights of the Barcelona segment included meetings with the Autonomous University of Barcelona as well as Esade, a private business and law school, where a number of BTAA institutions send students. We also visited with the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona and the EducationUSA office to discuss resources for students and faculty opportunities for collaboration. Barcelona was followed by a trip to Alicante, where Iowa has longstanding ties to the University of Alicante (UA) and to USAC (University Studies Abroad Consortium), whose study abroad program recently ranked best for Spanish immersion. Our BTAA group met with colleagues from both UA and USAC, as well as with city officials, who reiterated their wish to attract international students to Alicante and to Spain more broadly. In both cities, Katie Ron from our Communications and Relations team and I met with Iowa students who are either pursuing internships or who are enrolled in Spanish language and culture courses. It was a delight to connect with Hawkeyes during their time abroad and learn first-hand about their experiences.
Fortunately, Spain was not the only country on this trip where we were able to visit with Hawkeyes abroad. Romania (June 16-23) was the next leg of the trip, where Associate Vice President for Research Kristy Nabhan-Warren and I visited our close partners at the University of Babeş-Bolyai (UBB), in the beautiful city of Cluj-Napoca. Over the past several years, Iowa’s College of Public Health has established a strong collaboration with their counterparts at UBB. Students from Iowa’s College of Public Health participated in the week-long SCOPE Summer School, focused on violence and injury prevention. Much of the work was collaborative and project-based, with Iowa students participating in teams with counterparts from Armenia, Georgia, Romania, and Moldova. It was exciting to sit in on classes and observe student involvement in these crucial initiatives. IP applauds the College of Public Health for its sustained efforts to build such a solid partnership, and we will play our part in developing this collaboration moving forward.
Public health is not the only area in which we see partnership opportunities with UBB. Dr. Nabhan-Warren and I also met with the dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Administrative, and Communication Sciences, as well as the dean of the Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering to explore opportunities for faculty and students. These visits were complemented by conversations with UBB’s vice president for research and the vice president for communication and relations. With its comprehensive programming, faculty expertise, global reputation, and welcoming atmosphere, UBB serves as an excellent institution for Iowa faculty and students seeking to pursue their academic endeavors abroad. In October, representatives from UBB will again visit the UI (a delegation came in March of this year as well), and we look forward to extending and deepening this vital partnership in Eastern Europe.
Deepest thanks to our colleagues, students, friends, and supporters who make these connections possible.
As ever,
Russ
International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement. IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.