As the Office for Global Engagement celebrates ten years of “Connecting U to the World,” we invite you to join us in reminiscing on some of the most memorable moments of the last Global U decade:
Bringing the University of Utah to South Korea
In 2014, the University of Utah opened its extended campus in Incheon, South Korea, about an hour away from Seoul. Just 14 students were enrolled that first semester; this year the campus boasted an enrollment of 523.
“Attending the UAC was one of the best experiences I’ve had abroad, and it showed me many styles of life different from my own. I feel that it helped me become a better person. One of the best years
of my life,” said Andrew Bramble, Film & Media Arts ’22.
The campus’ unique location allows students to earn a U.S. degree while living and learning in Korea. It has opened international education opportunities, played host to delegations from around the world, and continues to see steady growth in students and programming.
“Internationalizing our curriculum really should be a matter of routine,” said Dr. Jay Jordan, who has taught writing across both campuses. “Building and maintaining a focus on international education is an ethical imperative. We ought to continue to see ourselves [at the University of Utah] as part of a much larger global community”.
Welcoming the Dalai Lama to the University of Utah
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s visit to Utah was received by a full house at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Tuesday, June 21, 2016. He arrived with a moving message that motivated and inspired the thousands who came.
One way to promote peace, he said, is to adopt a new way of thinking. “We live in a global economy. To be globally minded is to have a sense of unity and oneness. Serve other human beings and promote a sense of concern for others.”
Co-sponsors of the event included the U’s Office for Global Engagement, the Asia Center, Global Social Work, Global Health/Health Sciences, the Hinckley Institute, the Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy, and the Tanner Humanities Center, along with the Utah Tibetan Association.
Helping to train over 650 Chinese coaches
The China Coaches Training Program, launched in 2016, brought coaches and sports teachers from universities across China to study with University of Utah Athletics coaches and College of Health faculty.
Over four years, the University of Utah, Pac-12, Arizona State University, the Chinese Scholarship Council, and the Federation University Sports China (FUSC) joined forces to train over 650 Chinese coaches.
The innovative program was, at the time, the largest person-to-person exchange program facilitated by the U.S. State Department and was featured in the New York Times.
Participants remarked that the three-month experience was “unforgettable.”
Visualizing the “Global U” impact
Recognizing a need to collect and visualize the incredible global activities at the U, the Office for Global Engagement launched the Global U Inventory, providing the first comprehensive insights into research activities, international student data, learning abroad and internship opportunities, partnerships, and alumni insights.
Expanding International Education Week
Under the Office for Global Engagement’s direction, International Education Week has continued to grow into one of the most cross-campus, collaborative, and anticipated events of the year.
Since adopting the celebration in 2016, the office has welcomed an increasing number of campus partners and traditions in the week-long roster of festivities.
Held the third week of November, this joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education helps promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences. Annual events include a kick-off party featuring traditional dances, lectures and info sessions, a K-Pop dance workshop, and the ever-popular International Night.
(Mark your calendars for next year: November 18-22, 2024.)
Creating connections through the Global Campus Program
2019 marked the 10th anniversary of the Global Campus Program, a partnership among the University of Utah’s Office for Global Engagement, Granite School District, and Incheon International High School (IIHS) in South Korea. The experience offers all students a chance to investigate cultural similarities and differences, explore academic opportunities, and build international friendships.
Though the program took a pause during the height of the pandemic, it relaunched in Fall 2023.
Remaining connected and resilient through the pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it certainly changed our day-to-day operations, but it could not sway our dedication to global engagement. In fact, our international partnerships proved more important than ever. From informing the medical response here in Utah, to providing direct aid through PPE, our global partners helped us weather the storm.
Though we had to hold students back from most learning abroad opportunities, we were able to maintain mobility between the Salt Lake City Campus and the U Asia Campus. We launched new, virtual opportunities to connect, and took international student orientation online.
And while we’re all very grateful to be back to experiencing the world in person, we’re forever proud of our campus community’s resilience, creativity, and commitment to global engagement during a difficult time.
Launching an international experience for freshman
In the early days of 2020, the Office for Global Engagement was making final preparations to establish the Global LEAP program—a distinctive, early-career learning abroad opportunity that would enable Freshmen to spend their second semester at the University Asia Campus in South Korea.
But when the project was blanketed in the uncertainty that became the hallmark of that first pandemic year, many wondered if the program would succeed in sending students overseas as planned in 2021.
Four years later, the program is thriving. This year’s cohort of Global LEAP students totals 27, nearly double the first year of the program, and there is discussion of adding another section in the future due to its popularity.
Joining in the celebration of 75 years of the Fulbright program
In 2021 the Fulbright program celebrated 75 years. Eleven students arrived at the Salt Lake City campus that Fall—the U’s largest incoming class of “Fulbrighters,” as participants call themselves—representing 10 different countries. The same semester, the U hosted four continuing Fulbrighters and three Fulbright alumni who had progressed to doctoral studies. In total, 14 countries were represented on campus through the Fulbright program alone.
The class of incoming Fulbrighters had the opportunity to meet each other at an outdoor potluck hosted by ISSS. It was a joyous celebration of international friendship made sweeter by the rarity of social interaction since the beginning of the pandemic. Over shared dishes from their home countries, the group began to build the bridges Senator Fulbright envisioned over three-quarters of a century before.
The program is administered at the U by the Office for Global Engagement and the Graduate School.
Launching a $19 million project to support Pakistan’s higher ed ecosystem
In March 2022, University of Utah officials traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan to hold the first Stakeholders Meeting of the new Higher Education Systems Strengthening Activity (HESSA)—a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—funded initiative aimed at advancing the country’s higher education system.
A 5-year, $19 million grant was awarded to the U and its partners by USAID to provide technical assistance for the project to advance the capacity of Pakistan’s higher education institutions and systems to develop employable graduates.
Representatives from the U’s Office for Global Engagement, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering , and College of Education are leading the initiative. Other U.S. project partners include the University of Alabama and the Institute of International Education.
Three years in and the impact of the program is being felt.
______________________
But, of course, there’s so much more!
For more Global U stories, visit global.utah.edu/stories.
Thank you for all that you’ve done and do to make the University of Utah a more Global U!