Washington DC Semester in International Studies Applications due April 7

EXTENDED DEADLINE
April 7, 2008, 4:00 pm in 261 Bascom

One more opportunity to apply!

The Washington DC Semester in International Studies has been extended to April 7, 2008. The program offers qualified undergraduates the opportunity to intern in an agency, corporation, non-profit organization or embassy with an international affairs focus and to receive university course credit. In addition to an internship, students will participate in a seminar course with prominent UW-Madison alumni working in international, professional, academic and diplomatic fields. Students will attend lectures offered at think tanks, universities, business, and professional associations. They will also visit major institutions such as Congress, the State Department, the World Bank, private industry, and non-governmental organizations.

For more information please contact:
Jaya Reddy (608)262-9511; intlstudiespa@international.wisc.edu
http://www.international.wisc.edu/WashingtonDC/

Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Internship and Pre-Dissertation Travel Grants

Applications are now being accepted for two graduate fellowships: Global Studies awards Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Internship Grants to doctoral students interested in undertaking practitioner internships on social justice issues and Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Pre-Dissertation Travel Grants to support summer travel for doctoral students exploring potential field research sites.

Deadline for applications is Friday, February 22, 2008. The program is open to students of any nationality who are enrolled in a doctoral program at UW-Madison. Projects which are related to Global Studies themes will receive particular attention. Specific requirements for each fellowship, further details, and application materials are available here. The entire application package (including application forms, letters and transcripts) must be received no later than Friday, February 22, 2008 at 4:00 PM. All application materials should be sent or delivered to Global Studies, 301 Ingraham Hall.

International Academic Internships—helping Wisconsin businesses go global

Through its International Academic Internship the Division of International Studies partners with businesses both in and out of Wisconsin to offer innovative way to give students the global competence they need to tackle these new challenges and to successfully navigate in an increasingly international workplace.

At the same time, it gives Wisconsin businesses a global edge, providing employers with a well-educated, globally minded workforce that will continue to attract people — and business — to Wisconsin.

Thanks to an alliance between several campus units, prominent local and global companies and UW alumni, 12 businesses and organizations overseas have opened their workplaces to our student interns in 11 cities.

Students from Prairie du Chien, Fond du Lac, Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Oak Creek and many other Wisconsin towns have taken advantage of this unique opportunity, gaining the confidence and worldview they need to be competitive in today ’s workforce.

Read more about this program in the November 8 Wisconsin State Journal guest column by Dean Gilles Bousquet: http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/opinion/255880

If your business is interested in partnering with UW–Madison’s International Academic Internship program, please call 608-265-6296.

UW-Business News Wire: Global Talent

UW–Madison’s growing International Academic Internship program places students in businesses across the globe.

By Masarah Van Eyck, UW–Madison Division of International Studies

Featured on UW-Business News Wire

Prairie du Chien native Megan Bender learned about more than water distribution while serving as an intern with Abbott Fund in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last summer. The philanthropic foundation of the global health company Abbott, Abbott Fund is investing $50 million in a partnership with the Tanzanian government to help modernize the country’s health care system.

A recent graduate of UW–Madison with degrees in geological engineering, geology and geophysics, Bender worked closely with a senior engineer from a firm in England to assess the water storage and distribution system for Muhimbili National Hospital.

And while she says she had all the academic training possible — and her previous work in Rwanda with the UW–Madison chapter of Engineers Without Borders had given her some good hands-on, overseas experience — Bender still had one crucial lesson to learn.

“I sometimes have trouble being patient,” she admits, “and in Africa … patience is necessary if you want to keep your sanity. I learned to push when I needed to, but also let things happen and wait for them. I think that is something very difficult for Americans to learn.”

Dean Bousquet: Creating a global talent pool [Wisconsin State Journal]

Wisconsin State Journal, November 8, 2007

The increasing interdependence of the world ’s economy is practically a fixture in the news these days, and for good reason. Whether it ’s the need for global competence (claimed in this week ’s New York Times), or the increase of outsourcing and immigration (described in last week ’s Isthmus), U.S. education, employment and industry will never be the same.

By partnering with corporations both in and out of Wisconsin, UW-Madison has created an innovative program that gives students the global competence they need to tackle these new challenges and to successfully navigate in an increasingly international workplace.

At the same time, it gives Wisconsin businesses a global edge, providing employers with a well-educated, globally minded workforce that will continue to attract people — and business — to Wisconsin.

In just two years, UW-Madison ’s Division of International Studies ‘ International Academic Internship program has placed 24 UW-Madison students in workplaces from Tokyo to Qing Dao to Dar-es-Salaam.

UW-Madison Student is Baldwin’s Guest at French President’s Speech to Congress

UW-Madison senior Lana Landgraf was the guest of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin at today’s joint meeting of Congress honoring French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Landgraf, a native of West Allis, WI, met with Baldwin before taking a seat in the visitor’s gallery of the House chamber to hear the French President’s address to Congress. Each Member of the House of Representatives was given one guest ticket to the event.

Landgraf is in Washington, DC on an internship with the Corporate Council on Africa through the UW-Madison Division of International Studies. Fluent in French since taking it up at age 6, Landgraf is majoring in International Business, Marketing, and French.

The Importance of Working Overseas: Two Perspectives on International Internships

Today’s students need global skills and corporations increasingly are looking for globally-trained employees. With this in mind, the UW-Madison Division of International Studies, in partnership with the School of Business, the College of Engineering and Cross-College Biology Education, as well as friends and alumni, has launched the International Academic Internships Initiative (IAII).

Last summer, in its pilot year, the IAII placed seven students at locations in Japan and the Netherlands. Participants, both students and their employers, were extremely satisfied with the program, which hopes to provide 15 to 20 internships in 2007. Here we explore two perspectives on the program’s importance, and how students can make a meaningful contribution to their company and the state of Wisconsin – one from an alumnus who was instrumental in launching the program, another from a student participant.

Spearheading the Project – A Donor’s Perspective

Jack Lavin (BBA ’76), a member of the School of Business Advisory Board, became involved in the IAII program as a lead donor in 2005 after the School’s dean, Mike Knetter, introduced him to the dean of International Studies, Gilles Bousquet. “I have a personal interest in international business and an entrepreneurial nature,” says Lavin. “I liked the idea of a joint venture between the School of Business and the Division of International Studies and was invested in getting it on track.” Lavin, along with other donors from Wisconsin to Japan, is providing valuable funding for the program’s participants. Students receive scholarships of up to $2,500 for their internship.

Lavin identified with the program because, as a UW-Madison student, he was a member of the International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC) and spent a summer working at a Swedish bank. While the job itself was not the most exciting he’d had, the experience of working abroad always stayed with him. Lavin believes that today’s students and the state of Wisconsin need a program like the IAII in order to compete in the global economy. “It’s not necessarily natural to think of Wisconsin as an international hub, or of a global education being important for the state,” he says. “But as the world becomes more interconnected, UW must demonstrate its ability to present a well-rounded international perspective.”

Lavin says he is curious to see what happens next to the internship students. “When I met the students last fall, they reinforced my good feeling about supporting the program. There is no substitute for this kind of experience. These are serious students whose enthusiasm about the program will permeate throughout the campus.”

Lavin believes that the students aren’t the only ones to benefit from the program. He says companies benefit, too. “The students bring a fresh perspective to the business and have great energy. The company may even come away with a permanent employee.”

The International Academic Internship Experience – One Student’s Perspective

When Max Miller heard about the International Academic Internship Initiative, he was quick to sign up. “I’m just really into this kind of thing,” says Miller, a fifth year senior majoring in finance and international business but with over 20 credits of Chinese under his belt. “I’m really obsessed with living and working abroad.”

Miller, who is from Milwaukee, had studied abroad in China and Hong Kong, but the academic internship offered him the chance to have a new but also practical adventure. Miller was assigned to the Toshiba Corporation in Tokyo where he worked in the procurement department. By Miller’s account, Toshiba kept him very busy, giving him an invaluable perspective not just in one field but of the company as a whole. He was sent to different levels of the company and to various locations, including area plants and suppliers. He attended daily briefings and did research on Toshiba’s competitors to relay to top management. He examined product costs and assessed product lines. He edited letters translated from Japanese to English that the company sent its suppliers. In procurement, he was especially interested in learning about the company’s cost management approaches.

Before signing up for the program, Miller had been interested in working in Asia after graduation. The IAII experience gave him a start but it was especially rewarding because, in the procurement department, Miller became intrigued by a potentially new career path.

According to Miller, increasing numbers of fellow-students in Business are realizing that these kinds of international experiences, “learning to live outside your comfort zone,” are important both personally and professionally. “[The IAII experience] was very hectic, very stressful, but I loved it, every minute,” Miller says.

UW-Madison Launches International Internship Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: Monday, March 20, 2006

CONTACT: Ronnie Hess, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, UW-Madison, (608) 262-5590, rlhess@wisc.edu

UW-MADISON LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Madison, WI – Thanks to a new, first-of-its-kind program at UW-Madison, a core group of undergraduates will soon be able to experience what it’s like to work for a major international company or a non-governmental organization (NGO) overseas.

Under the program, called the International Academic Internships Initiative (IAII), about ten students will be placed in positions in international companies in Europe, Asia, and Africa beginning this summer. Students will earn up to three academic credits for participating in the eight-week program, sponsored by the Division of International Studies, the School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Institute for Cross-College Biology Education.

“A recent survey by the American Council on Education reported that an overwhelmingly majority of companies say they need managers and employees with great international knowledge,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of International Studies. “We want to make sure that our graduates have that knowledge and training, including the opportunity for an international academic internship.”

Other UW partners share Bousquet’s enthusiasm. “This initiative is an exciting and viable model that will deliver value to our students and to participating companies,” says Michael Knetter, dean of the School of Business. “The internships will provide our students with invaluable opportunities to gain practical experience in international settings.”

“The Institute for Cross-College Biology Education is excited to be associated with the international internships program,” says its director, Thomas Sharkey. “We work to provide both internship and international experiences for our students to prepare them for the future. The range of our students is reflected in the types of internships being pursued through this initiative.”

The new director of the internships program is Loren Kuzuhara, a faculty member in the UW-Madison School of Business. “We live in a global world,” Kuzuhara says. “Whether you’re a business student or majoring in another discipline, the chances of you working in the future with people from other countries are very high, both at home and abroad.”

According to Kuzuhara, Wisconsin employers generally are impressed with UW-Madison students, what Kuzuhara calls their “intellectual horsepower,” their academic achievements and their work ethic, but the companies are frequently disappointed that students aren’t more cosmopolitan. “The students seem unaware of the world around them in many cases,” Kuzuhara says.

Several companies and NGOs are participating in the program, including SC Johnson, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of home cleaning, storage, air care, insect control and personal care products, based in Racine; Promega, a Madison-based advanced technologies firm with offices around the world; Plexus Corp., headquartered in Neenah, providing contract electronics product design and test as well as manufacturing and fulfillment services to a variety of industries; Inmarsat, a global mobile satellite communications company, based in London, England; Toshiba Corporation, a world leader in technology products; and Central Japan Railway Company, focused on intercity high-speed train service in Japan.

“Companies and universities are competing on an increasingly global stage,” says Dean Foate, President and CEO of Plexus. “The International Academic Internships program is a sound strategy to develop vitally important global leadership skills for students and (company) mentors, and we enthusiastically offer Plexus’ support.”

Kuzuhara believes that what makes the UW-Madison initiative special is not just the promise of a job but the program’s academic requirements. The program is designed to ensure that students reflect on their experience and that they connect and contextualize what they’ve experienced both in and outside of the classroom. The students will have an intensive orientation before beginning their assignments, and debriefings when they return. They will be assigned special readings, as well as an extensive research project while on the job. The students will also have weekly check-ins by phone with Kuzuhara and the program’s associate director, Mark Lilleleht. They will also be assigned a supervisor or mentor overseas to help them adjust to their new work and cultural environments.

According to Lilleleht, there has been strong student response to the new program. “I don’t think we have to demonstrate to our students that the internships are worthwhile,” Lilleleht says, adding that the internship experiences can help students become more marketable after graduation.

In 2003, a UW-Madison task force on international internships found that international internships were viewed as an increasingly important part of the academic experience. The task force report stated that nearly 200 UW-Madison students across 20 different academic disciplines undertook some kind of international internship in the 2002-2003 academic year, and that the students said they believed internship experiences made them more attractive to potential employers, helped them with professional contacts, fostered language skills, and gave them new perspectives about the world.

Lilleleht says that once applications have been reviewed and a pool of students selected for the program, prospective interns will be matched with a prospective employer to assure the best “fit.” The employer will then choose from among a list of candidates. Depending on their assignments, the interns may receive housing or financial assistance.

Although the UW-Madison offers a wealth of study-abroad programs, domestic internships, including the Washington, D.C. Semester in International Affairs in the nation’s capital, and sponsors initiatives to help students find jobs overseas, there has never been a formal international academic internship program. The internships, which will be competitive and require that students have at least a 3.0 overall GPA, are open to undergraduates from any discipline. Students participating in the IAII will register for independent study or directed study in their department or field of study.

For more information on the International Academic Internships Initiative, go to: http://intern.international.wisc.edu/

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