UW named ‘top producer’ of Fulbright recipients

The University of Washington is one of 12 institutions to make the “top producers” list of both Fulbright scholars and students for 2014-15, according to lists released Thursday in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Fulbright Program, operated by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

“The UW has a proud history of global engagement, with a large number of faculty engaged in international research collaborations, and many undergraduate and graduate students studying and conducting research abroad,” said Jeffrey Riedinger, the UW’s vice provost for global affairs.

Seven scholars and 13 students from the UW were awarded Fulbright grants for 2014-2015, with the university landing fourth on the scholars list and tied for 17th on the students list.

Study Abroad fair connects students to a world of opportunities

Hosted for the first time in the renovated UW Husky Union Building, the Study Abroad Fair buzzed with students driven to discover new experiences Thursday, Oct. 23. Nearly 100 exhibitors, including representatives from UW departments, partner universities and affiliated providers such as Peace Corps, were on hand to answer questions and showcase leading-edge student experiences.

The UW Study Abroad Office offers four types of programs for students: direct exchanges with foreign institutions, thematic programs led by UW faculty, affiliated programs through other universities and IE3 global internships. Chris Rumer, a biochemistry senior, manned the table for University College London, which offers a direct exchange program for UW students. One of the most popular and competitive exchange programs, Rumer said his table had been busy all morning.

“[UCL offers] one of the best programs with the education and cultural diversity of London,” he said. Rumer had been close to attending UCL for his undergraduate degree, but coming to UW and traveling to UCL on exchange encompassed the best of both worlds. Fellow exchange students Victoria Dmyterko and Nikolina Stoykova, biology and international studies seniors, raved about experience, the educational opportunities offered and the friendships made. “I loved it,” said Dmyterko.

Funding options for travel and study were also advertised at the fair. Robyn Davis, Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship coordinator, was happy to engage with new students. The FLAS, which offers funding for language learning, has historically attracted primarily graduate student applicants. “[The Study Abroad Fair] is a good opportunity to get the word out to undergraduates,” Davis said. Many of the study abroad experiences that work with FLAS funding were also at the fair, making it easier to directly refer students to other programs.

Nala Watters, a humanities sophomore, was surprised by the number of program and funding opportunities made available. “There are a lot of options,” Watters said. “[Students] will find something and the money to do it.” Though Watter’s area of interest is quite narrow — folklore and myths — she said she found some programs that could be tailored to fit her passions. “It’s an experience that pretty much everybody needs,” she said.

With program options spanning Argentina to Zurich, the choices and experiences for UW Study Abroad students are boundless. Visit UW Study Abroad to learn more!

MBA students pitch poverty solutions in D-Prize competition

Together, aspiring social entrepreneurs from the Foster School of Business are working to address global poverty. The D-Prize competition, hosted by the Global Business Center, challenges social entrepreneurs to develop better ways to distribute proven life-enhancing technologies, while providing crucial funding and support so that these ideas can launch a pilot.

The message at Entrepreneur Week? Dare to do.

Entrepreneur Week is an annual window into the world of entrepreneurship, around the corner and across the globe.

This year, from October 13-17, the Buerk Center will host events featuring Seattle’s high-profile thinkers, dreamers, innovators and doers. There’s something for everyone: die-hard entrepreneurs, students interested in working for a startup and those who just want to learn more.

Read more and see a Schedule of Events…

In fall classes, students question the answer to global problems

This autumn quarter, UW students are engaging with global issues through courses in a wide variety of fields.

One course, Information Assurance and Cyber Security, is a tri-campus, multi-disciplinary effort involving UW Bothell’s Computing and Software Systems Program, the Information School and UW Tacoma’s Institute of Technology. The Criminalization of Immigration course at UW Tacoma digs into global issues from a social science perspective. The School of Environmental and Marine Affairs will take students out of the classroom for a new field course that studies the challenges of governing coastal and marine areas in the 21st century.

Dream Act supports undocumented students daring to pursue higher ed

Carlos Escutia is just one of many undocumented students entering UW and other universities this autumn with the support of the Dream Act. KPLU tells the story of Carlos’ passionate pursuit of a UW education.

38 countries represented in UW’s incoming freshman class

President Young will welcome this year’s freshman class at Freshman Convocation this Sunday. Together, the 6,400 new students represent 38 countries, 48 states and Washington D.C. Nearly 5,000 hail from Washington state.

Grad student gets Young Investigator Award at International AIDS Conference

UW School of Nursing Ph.D. student Jillian Pintye has experience fighting health disparities across the globe. She was recognized at the recent 20th International AIDS Conference for her research investigating connections between male circumcision and disease transmission in Uganda and Kenya.

Read a conversation with Jillian Pintye from UW Health Sciences NewsBeat…

International student first Husky to golf in British Open Championship

For the first time, golf fans will watch a Husky athlete compete at the Open Championship in Holyoke, England. Representing UW at this week’s tournament is Cheng-Tsung Pan, a senior communications major from Taiwan.

UW ignites international student’s passion for art

College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Medalist Jueqian Fang showed promise in the sciences during high school in China. However, she came to UW ready to explore new pathways. Drawn to the arts, Jueqian went on to double major, earning degrees in photomedia in the School of Art + Art History + Design and cinema studies in the Department of Comparative Literature.

While at UW Jueqian has displayed her artwork at exhibitions on campus as well as in a juried art show in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. She was selected as a Dean’s Medalist on the basis of academic performance and faculty recommendations.