UW-Madison Students Improve Ecuador Water Quality

CONTACT: Jeff Russell, (608) 262-7244, russell@engr.wisc.edu

UW-MADISON STUDENTS IMPROVE ECUADOR WATER QUALITY

MADISON - “I’ve got a project for you,” University of Wisconsin-Madison civil and environmental engineering professor Peter Bosscher told Jonathan Blanchard and Kevin Orner in August 2007, during one of the trio’s weekly gatherings at Bosscher’s home.

Blanchard and Orner, civil and environmental engineering students who graduated in May 2008, listened as their mentor described a design to fix a water pipeline serving five small communities in central Ecuador.

“The day he told us, we said, ‘Yes, we’ll do it.’ We went home and started putting together a proposal that week,” says Orner.

Along with fellow civil and environmental engineering student David Tengler, Blanchard and Orner tackled the project for their senior design capstone project, a requirement for all civil and environmental engineering seniors.

The result is a 10 kilometer-long system of PVC pipes that provides equal amounts of water to the villages of Larca Cunga, Agualongo, Panecillo, Yambiro and San Juan Loma.

Water equity is a major improvement: Before the project, the communities furthest from the mountain spring could only draw water for one hour late at night while the communities closest to the source drew an estimated 100 gallons per person per day.

“We all felt privileged to do a project that influences people’s lives in such a positive way,” says Tengler.

For The Record: Engineers Without Borders [WISC-TV]

WISC-TV’s Neil Heinen talks with members of a University of Wisconsin-Madison group who are making life significantly better for the people of Rwanda.

Click here to watch the video.

From Molecular Science to Political Science: Pasteur Internship Introduces Students to Global Public Health

By Masarah Van Eyck, Division of International Studies

Trucks, cabs, and horse-drawn carts compete for space with pedestrians and even goats below the skyscrapers of downtown Dakar, Senegal. But passing through the iron gates into the Pasteur Institute’s garden courtyard, one is greeted by a bust of Louis Pasteur himself and the air settles into a certain calm.

In the medical virology building, UW-Madison undergraduate student and Mineral Point native Dean Sayre greets me from the other end of the hallway–a tall, shyly smiling 22-year-old in jeans and a Bucky Badger t-shirt. After a tour of the facility from Sayre’s supervisor Dr. Kadar Ndiaye, we descend the stairs for lunch on Gorée Island. Leaving our halting French behind us, Sayre begins to relax into speaking and he easily offers up statistics to put his work and newly discovered passion in context.

“It’s estimated that 600,000 kids die a year around the world from rotavirus,” Sayre says. “And more than 80 percent of those kids are in Africa and Asia.”

Contrast this with the 40 or so deaths per year from the virus in the U.S.

Faced with the disparity between the state of healthcare in Senegal versus his native U.S., Sayre is far from defeated. If anything, it has made him a more devoted researcher.

“It’s not that more people are infected in Africa,” Sayre explains, “it’s just that more die from the virus. Today there are two licensed rotavirus vaccines in the world, but they are primarily available in Europe and the Americas.”

“That’s what’s really interesting,” he continues, “the tools are actually out there to avoid this.”

Those “tools,” he has come to understand, are not just the vaccines engineered in labs like his. Equally important are programs like the PATH Rotavirus Vaccine Program, established to bring vaccines to the populations that need them most urgently.

UW senior serves as translator for Bucks’ Yi Jianlian [The Capital Times]

By Todd Finkelmeyer, The Capital Times

Matt Beyer is the first to admit he’s catching his breath just a bit as he wraps up a whirlwind senior year at UW-Madison.

“I’m not going to lie, it was really intense,” said Beyer, who is taking two courses this summer to complete his undergraduate degree. “When the year was over, I felt a little burned out.”

A little burned out?

Not only was Beyer putting the finishing touches on a triple major of Chinese, East Asian studies and journalism, but from October through April he served as the interpreter for Milwaukee Bucks 7-footer Yi Jianlian, a rookie from China.

The Bucks play 82 games during the regular season, with half 75 miles down the road in Milwaukee and the rest at various NBA cities around the country. And with rare exception, Beyer was at Yi’s side as an interpreter for media interviews both before and after every game.

“You know what the strange thing is?” said Beyer, who recently turned 23. “As intense as it was, I miss the season already. It was so fun, and now watching the NBA playoffs on TV I wish the Bucks were still in it. I didn’t sleep much during the year, but everything was so exciting and new, I just felt grateful to be in that position.”

Beyer, who grew up in Elm Grove, a suburb of Milwaukee, was first introduced to Chinese culture when he traveled with his family to the city of Xi’an, where his parents adopted a young boy and girl from an orphanage. He was 10 at the time.

Beyer eventually became so interested in China that he spent two years studying there straight out of high school before enrolling at UW-Madison in the spring of 2005.

Alumni Donations Make Study Abroad Possible: 2008 Study Abroad Award Ceremony

This year 50 undergraduate students received scholarships to study abroad in 23 different countries. The students come from all over Wisconsin and the U.S. and are highly diversified in majors and destination countries.

At the award ceremony in April two UW seniors and former study-abroad scholarship recipients, Stephanie Koczela, who studied in Nairobi, Kenya, and Ben Harguth, who studied in Budapest, Hungary, gave advice and insight on what incredible adventures the students were about to encounter.

“Being there [Nairobi] I realized that the goals you have for yourself are often shaped by experiences that you have, and I hadn’t had enough experiences to understand how I could have the impact I wanted to have.” said Koczela. “I then realized that my goals could be better met by taking a different path than I had originally intended before studying abroad.”

“You will change,” said Harguth. “You’re going to learn a lot about yourself, others, and different cultures.”

Both Koczela and Harguth expressed their gratitude for the scholarships they received to make their study-abroad experiences possible and discussed how they will apply their new perspectives in their future careers.

From Mexico to China, UW students will create mind-opening experiences for themselves and bring their international awareness back to campus, all made possible by the generous donations of UW alumni. There are currently seven study-abroad scholarships available to students through alumni donations: Study Abroad Telethon, Chuo-Kuo-Ping, Gerend, Joe Elder, Makward, Chicago Rothschild Fund and Pritzker Pucker. This year, these funds were able to award a total of $84,500.

Souvenirs: A Collection of International Experiences

Souvenirs: A Collection of International Experiences is a brand-new publication on UW campus this year, sponsored by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Global Connections and Publications Committees. Souvenirs features stories from students’ experiences studying, traveling and volunteering abroad, a message from U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, and travel tips and advice. Pick up a free copy around campus today. Locations include Memorial Union, Union South, Morgridge Center for Public Service, Study Abroad Office and more!

2008 Study Abroad Photo Contest Winners Announced

CONTACT: Katie Saur, 608-890-0939, kbsaur@bascom.wisc.edu

Madison, WI – International Academic Programs (IAP) in the Division of International Studies has announced the winners of the 2008 Study Abroad Photo Contest. A reception to honor the winners and have them discuss their photos will take place on Thursday, May 1st from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the On Wisconsin Room at the Red Gym. The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Each year IAP holds a photo contest asking past study-abroad students to submit their favorite photographs to promote the many and diverse study-abroad programs UW offers. This year 72 students submitted an average of eight photos for four photo categories: people and culture, natural landscapes, urban landscapes, and “Badgers abroad.”

For a list of student winners visit: http://www.studyabroad.wisc.edu/alumni/photos/2008_contest/

“Study abroad is one of the best ways we extend the boundaries of the campus to encircle the globe,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. “This is how we produce global citizens—and that means global talent for a strong state economy. That’s the role of any great global public university.”

Last year 1,600 UW–Madison students studied abroad. IAP offers over 100 study-abroad programs on six continents, including academic year, semester, summer and winter inter-session options. Programs are available to students of any degree or major, freshmen to seniors, as well as graduate students. Visit the Study Abroad Resource Room located in 250 Bascom Hall or www.studyabroad.wisc.edu.

The winning photographers received special prizes from local businesses. The local businesses donating gift certificates are: Fromagination, Husnus, Ian’s Pizza, and the Sunroom Café.

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Students embrace Arabic in new International Learning Community

By Dana Bedessem, Division of International Studies

Arabic script runs along the dormitory hall of the third floor in Adams Hall. To an outsider it looks like an intricate design flowing among the plaster, but to the residents it provides direction and introductions to their fellow floormates.

This is Baytunaa, the Arabic floor in the International Learning Community (ILC). Baytunaa, meaning “our home,” houses five undergraduate students dedicated to speaking Arabic and learning about the different Arabic-speaking countries and cultures.

Baytunaa really does feel like a cozy little home. Students receive special Arabic instruction outside of their daily classes while sitting in overstuffed comfy chairs in front of the fireplace.

[Above: Cristina Treviño-Murphy reads from a selection of Arabic text during professor Dustin Cowell’s class session as part of the International Learning Community (ILC) Arabic floor study program in Adams Hall. Photo: Bryce Richter]

Sadam Issa, a Jordan native is the language floor coordinator.

“I have students of all levels learning and practicing standard Arabic, the Arabic used in modern journalism, legal systems and other formalities in Arabic-speaking countries,” says Issa. “It’s the language people use when speaking to someone of another Arabic dialect.”

Residents of Baytunaa meet with Issa three times a week to watch movies, play games and converse in Arabic. These meetings enhance speaking and writing skills while providing cultural knowledge of the Arabic world. This is all part of a one-credit Integrated Liberal Studies course all ILC students are required to take. It provides heightened cross-cultural understanding.

“ILC is one of the many ways in which UW–Madison prepares its students for an increasingly interdependent world,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. “It’s global competence training at its best.”

“I feel motivated to speak and learn more Arabic living here in Baytunaa,” says Cristina Treviño-Murphy, a freshman resident studying sociology. “It’s so much easier to find the resources to practice Spanish or French, but not Arabic. I have so many resources for practicing that are almost impossible for people to find. I can speak Arabic with people living on my floor and get help from a native speaker — Sadam.”

Baytunaa residents and all other ILC residents have the greatest resource of all — a fluent speaker in their language of study living on their floor.

“I have students in my room all the time asking questions about Jordan or wanting help with their homework,” says Issa. “They’re good students, they want to be here, and they want to learn.”

Baytunaa not only provides the necessary and hard-to-find resources for students, but it also prepares them for their futures.

“My experience here learning Arabic and living in Baytunaa has provided and continues to provide me with so many different perspectives,” says sophomore Michael Goldstein. “In order to learn and speak Arabic you have to apply a whole new way of thinking, it’s incredibly challenging, but very rewarding.”

[Above: Student Michael Goldstein studies in his residence hall room in Adams Hall. The Arabic floor program focuses on teaching students the Arabic language through an immersive learning environment that includes not only Arabic-based classes, but also a living environment designed to surround the students with Arabic in their everyday lives. Photo: Bryce Richter]

The residents of ILC have a unique opportunity to live in a cross-cultured environment. Every floor has its own language and identity specific to those countries where the language is spoken.

“The ILC is a place where people speak five to six different languages and have been to so many different places, all of these details and backgrounds create for an amazing environment that you can’t get anywhere else,” says Treviño-Murphy.

All ILC residents are encouraged to share their views and ideas with one another at bimonthly roundtable dinners, creating a little global community of knowledge and insight.

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/

Student Interest in Study Abroad and International Learning Ranks High [American Council on Education]

Published February 25, 2008 by the American Council on Education 

Despite global terrorism and other tumultuous international events, college-bound high school students’ interest in study abroad and other international learning experiences while in college is strong, according to a recent study conducted by the American Council on Education (ACE), Art & Science Group, and the College Board.

Today, 55 percent of college-bound students say they are certain or fairly certain they will participate in study abroad. Moreover, the study reveals that many students come to college with more internationally diverse backgrounds and experiences. Not surprisingly, a high proportion want the college they attend to offer a wide range of international experiences and opportunities from internships and study abroad programs to courses on international topics and opportunities to interact with students from other countries.

The findings published today in a Special Edition of studentPOLL, College-Bound Students’ Interests in Study Abroad and Other International Learning Activities, are based on a national survey of 1,500 high school seniors. The findings provide strong evidence that interest in international learning for these students is high.

Annual Study Abroad Photo Contest Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Katie Saur, International Academic Programs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, (608) 890-0939, kbsaur@bascom.wisc.edu

Madison, WI –International Academic Programs (IAP), a member program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of International Studies, has announced that its annual Study Abroad Photo Contest will take place this February.

Each year International Academic Programs (IAP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts a Study Abroad Photography Contest in order to promote study abroad programs to the student community. Past participants of UW-Madison-sponsored study abroad programs are invited to submit photos from their time abroad. Entry photos are grouped in four categories: natural landscapes; people and culture; urban landscapes; and “Badgers abroad.”

First, second, and third place winners, as well as honorable mentions, will be determined in each category during a voting period involving students, faculty and staff at the university. Prizes will include gift certificate donations from local businesses and magazine subscriptions.

Photo contest rules and entry forms can be found at

Global Studies announces WI-Global

Global Studies and the Offices of the Dean of Students are pleased to announce the creation of WI-Global, a program designed to engage UW-Madison undergraduates in issues related to globalization and its impact on the world’s communities and cultures as well as on systems of governance, exchange, and education. WI-Global has two different components, both of which offer prizes each semester for best contribution.

The WI-Global Forum is an online discussion for UW-Madison undergraduates on contemporary global topics and their relevance to and impact on local communities. The discussion will take place on the WI-Global Forum site where additional details (rules for participation, information on prizes awarded, calendar, etc) can be found. Any UW-Madison undergraduate, regardless of major, may participate in the WI-Global Forum, but must first register both with Blogger and with WI-Global. The inaugural discussion for Spring 2008 will be on world music.

The WI-Global Paper Award is designed to encourage and recognize academic excellence in the area of global studies, as well as to recognize our faculty’s efforts in training students as global citizens. Two awards will be given each semester for papers written for a Global Studies course. (Faculty members: to have a course considered for inclusion on the Global Studies course list, please complete the course submission form.) Professors of Global Studies courses may nominate one paper. The deadline for nomination for the Spring 2008 award is Friday, 23 May 2008.

Much more information available at: wi.global.wisc.edu

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.

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.”

Program brings students to Washington, D.C., for global experiences

by Kristin Czubkowski, UW-Madison Communications

Published in Wisconsin Week.

The phrase “once a Badger, always a Badger” often applies to alumni’s continued support of University of Wisconsin-Madison athletics after graduation, but in the case of at least one academic program, the Washington, D.C., Undergraduate Semester in International Affairs in the Division of International Studies, it has meant much more.

“I would like to say it was because we realized here on campus the real need for this program, but it was really because a group of alumni in Washington who worked in international affairs came to us,” says Cynthia Williams, director of external relations for the Division of International Studies. UW-Madison alumni in Washington, D.C., have been involved in the program, now in its third year, from the start, bringing the idea to UW-Madison and ensuring its continued success.

Info Session: Washington D.C. Semester Internship in International Affairs

Information Session: Thursday, November 15, 2007; 4:00 pm in 260 Bascom

The Washington, D.C. Semester is open to undergraduates of all disciplines who demonstrate an interest in international affairs. This program equips students with the knowledge and experience that will prepare them to be active global citizens, with the understanding that an internship is an invaluable vehicle in combining professional experience and academic training.

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.

Study abroad fair quickly approaching

Where in the world do you want to go? Over 1,000 UW-Madison students study abroad each year, on every continent except Antarctica!

UW-Madison offers more than 150 study abroad programs. These opportunities include programs for all undergraduate degrees and majors, as well as programs for first year students, sophomores, juniors and seniors.

For interested students there will be an informational Study Abroad Fair held Wednesday, September 19 from 4-7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Attend to learn about UW-Madison study abroad opportunities, get answers to study abroad questions, and talk with past participants.

During the Fair, attend Study Abroad 101 at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. in the Union to learn how to find the right program, how credits transfer to UW, and about funding.

For more information, contact the Study Abroad Resource Room in 250 Bascom Hall, (608) 265-6329, peeradvisor@bascom.wisc.edu

WAGE offers fall courses related to globalization and the international economy

WAGE Senior Fellows and Affiliates regularly offer graduate and undergraduate courses related to globalization and the international economy. The Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy encourages students to review the below list of courses offered this fall. Please note that enrollment is at the discretion of the individual professor and a number of the undergraduate courses allow for graduate enrollment.

For further information about the courses or to view syllabi, please visit the WAGE courses website at http://wage.wisc.edu/students/courses/.

UW-Madison Students Earn Summer International Internships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 28, 2007

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

UW-MADISON STUDENTS EARN SUMMER INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIPS

Madison, WI – Fourteen University of Wisconsin-Madison students have received summer international internships, the Division of International Studies announced today. The internships are given through the International Academic Internship Initiative, an initiative of the Division of International Studies in partnership with the School of Business, the College of Engineering, the Institute for Cross-College Biology Education, Global Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, and the Center for European Studies.

The students, mostly juniors and seniors, will intern at international companies in China, Singapore, Japan, Tanzania, Brazil, and Wisconsin. The majority of the internships are paid.