Coming from both an international and transfer student background, Celine Kusnadi wished for nothing more than to find her home in the Hawkeye state. Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, Kusnadi packed her bags four years ago to pursue higher education. Now she is a senior graduating with a major in international relations under the perplexing circumstances of online education.     

“57 parents of Chinese students and young alumni worked together on purchasing and donating 8,000 medical masks to the UI Hospitals and Clinics. The masks were delivered to ’Love City’ yesterday,” Min Zou, mother of UI student Daniel Zhang, sent this message to a UI staff member via WeChat. ‘Love City’ is the Chinese nickname of Iowa City based on its pronunciation used by generations of Chinese-speaking students, alumni, families, and friends. 

Nearing completion of his PhD in biomedical engineering, Srivats reflected on the collaboration between UI Hospitals & Clinics and the UI College of Engineering, saying, “Lucky for me, both my masters project and my PhD dissertation have stemmed from collaboration with surgeons and doctors at the hospital. Really, Iowa is an amazing place for biomedical engineers because there is so much data available to researchers as well as access to doctors...” That collaboration between UI Hospitals & Clinics and the College of Engineering became even more evident shortly after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

When parents of Chinese students studying at the University of Iowa heard about shortages in the United States of personal protective equipment needed during the coronavirus pandemic, they immediately wanted to do something to help, even from some 7,000 miles away.

Join the staff of International Student and Scholar Services for a virtual Q&A session addressing "Immigration and Remote Learning," on Friday, April 17, at 2:30 p.m.

“I do grieve for the experience,” says Knights. “It’s the little things – walking into Catlett Hall and seeing someone you know, spending time with friends, the campus environment…I miss the atmosphere of the whole place.”

In an effort to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, the University of Iowa transitioned to online teaching for the rest of the Spring 2020 semester. As a result, all UI students shifted to virtual instruction on March 30. We checked in with Hanxi Tang, international student from Beijing, China, about her transition to online courses.

As an aspiring physician, Tang is inspired by what she sees at UI Hospitals & Clinics—particularly during this unprecedented pandemic. “I see healthcare professionals that work hard and long shifts and yet always display a positive attitude. Compared to what other healthcare professionals are doing around the world at this time, what I am doing is really little, but I am happy to make a small contribution to the global effort to prevent the spread of the virus.”

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. 

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.

Four international students share their personal experiences about choosing to study at the University of Iowa.

Concerns about the present and future danger of the 2019 novel coronavirus will be addressed by an expert panel on a special WorldCanvass called "Coronavirus: Perceptions and Precautions" to be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m., February 21, in 1117 University Capitol Centre (UCC). The event is free and open to the public.