International Accents

Studying abroad is an amazing privilege; make sure you know what you want to learn from it.

Since the COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan, China, Can Zhang (BBA economics ’14, BBA management ’14), the owner of a local driver training business that he took over from his family in late 2017, has been conducting online meetings with his management team on a regular basis. During a recent online meeting, he decided the company would benefit from implementing a conservative strategy to reduce costs and build a cash surplus in 2020. “The COVID-19 outbreak is really hurting small and medium-sized enterprises. During this crisis, some companies went bankrupt because they didn’t have enough cash flow. My company is facing a similar problem. I am not going to start any new projects or make any aggressive investments this year. The impact of COVID-19 is likely to be repercussive, and a long-term conservative strategy might be needed for my business,” Zhang said.

Even though no cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus have yet to be reported in Iowa, the university has canceled study abroad programs to countries heavily impacted by the virus.

Chosen from thousands of applicants from colleges and universities across the U.S., University of Iowa undergraduate Tartil Ali has been awarded the competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to study abroad this summer.

Cristiane Barbosa de Lira works with a growing Brazil-based group, Mulherio das Letras. Thanks to the all-women writing group, she was able to publish two books in 2019.

Three Burmese students began gathering with friends to form a community of peers from the same country. Now, they have formed an official student organization hoping to educate people about their culture.

The University of Iowa Department of Anthropology is celebrating 50 years of education and research. A series of lectures, events, and festivities will kick off on Feb. 28 with guest speaker James Watson, UI grad and Professor Emeritus at Harvard University.

Tartil Ali is thankful for the role models in her life, and the University of Iowa student looks to pay their contributions forward through her work on campus, in the community, and in a future health care career.

At a special event hosted by Life in Iowa on Tuesday, March 24, from 5-6 pm in 1117 University Capitol Centre, learn why the U.S. census is important and if international students can participate in it or not.

The UI has reached its fifth consecutive year of being named a top producer of Fulbright students and scholars by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

UI graduate student Christie Vogler wins the Obermann Center’s first humanities-based Three-Minute Thesis competition with her research on gender archaeology, which uncovers the unknown roles of women in Ancient Rome.