The International Programs Office will be hosting a series of events for the International Education Week this week, a celebration of international education and the benefits of exchanges abroad across the globe.
“After doing some research on international education, I realized that UMass had celebrated (IEW) in the past, but it was something that the (school) did not have the support to bring together in the last five years. So, I decided to make it my project to bring IEW back to UMass,” said Callie Cunningham, an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts.
Cunningham added that a high percentage of students at UMass choose not to study abroad, but it is usually much more popular with students in other countries.
“It is important to bring an international emphasis to the campus because if students are not going to go abroad and find it, we have to bring it to them in some ways,” she said. “By organizing these events around campus, students will learn about the opportunities they have to go abroad.”
With the support of IPO, Cunningham was able to create a diverse schedule of events from Nov. 17 to Nov. 21. Dr. Aaron Bruce, the keynote speaker, will be opening IEW with a presentation titled “Keep it Global: Diversity and Inclusion in Study Abroad.” The event will take place on Monday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Integrative Learning Center Room 240.
“Dr. Aaron Bruce is the perfect person for us to have at this point in time to address the joint issue of studying abroad and diversity on campus. ” said Jack Ahern, director of IPO. “Diversity is always an area of concern, but recent events on campus and recent initiatives to try and work on that have brought this issue to the attention of the University community. There has been some tension between some of the advocates for diversity and the advocates for internationalization,
“So, we would like to believe that the diversity goals and the internationalization goals are complementary – they support each other,” he continued. “They are not in competition and they are not in conflict, but they complement one another. Dr. Bruce is involved on both of those initiatives at the University of California, San Diego. He will be able to speak from the diversity point of view, as well as study abroad, and why study abroad matters.”
Passport Day will be held on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the Campus Center Room 165 – 169. Later that evening, there will be the International Dinning Event at Hampshire Dinning Commons from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a student panel in Commonwealth Honors College Events Hall, Room 160E from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The International Opportunities Expo will be held on Wednesday in the Student Union Ballroom form 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Cunningham said at the International Opportunity Expo, “Students can learn about how international groups are interacting on campus. There will also be a lot of program providers coming, especially faculty-lead short term UMass programs.”
She added she hopes “students will be able to learn about ways to work study abroad into their schedules (because) there are so many options that they do not know about, like the alternative spring breaks or summer programs.”
On Wednesday, there will also be a Foreign Film Night in CHC Events Hall Room 160E from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. The Scholarship Workshop will be on Thursday in CHC Events Hall Room 160E from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Following the Scholarship Workshop is the Careers Workshop, which will run from at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in CHC Events Hall Room 160W.
International Education Week is sponsored by the Institute for International Education, which is a national non-profit group that promotes all aspects of international higher education. They also administer the Fulbright Program and are involved with the Gilman Grant.
Ahern added that the IIE is currently working on a program, called Generation Study Abroad, to double the number of students in the United States who chose to study abroad.
“Over a hundred universities across the country have signed on to make a pledge to increase the number of students who have studied abroad, and UMass is one of them,” he said.
The pre-departure event will be held on Saturday in the Campus Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“International education is very important to our core mission here at the university,” said Ahern. “(It) is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the value of international education for all aspects of our missions.”
Sorelle Mbakop can be reached at [email protected].
