International Education Week Events 2022

All Week:

Event Passport Raffle

Attend 5 International Education Week events for a chance to win a UMBC prize pack!

Pick up your passport at the CGE front desk (UC207).

Once you attend 5 events, drop off your completed passport at CGE through Wed, Nov. 30th. One entry per student.

Students attending events in-person will receive a stamp on the passport. If the event is virtual, indicate the event attended in lieu on the back of the passport. Attendance will be checked.

Drawing will take place after IEW on December 1st.

International Photo Contest

Showcase your best photo of an international experience for a chance to win a UMBC prize pack! Open to students, faculty, and staff.

Study abroad students: We want to see something individual to your experience – something that sums up your time abroad. We are going to receive a ton of photos of the Eiffel Tower for example, but what makes your experience special? Click here to submit your photo

International students: We want to see your experience in the US through your eyes! We want to see photos you have taken around Baltimore or on trips you have taken around the US during your studies at UMBC. Click here to submit your photo

Faculty & staff: A walk down memory lane – we want to see fun and candid photos of our faculty and staff abroad! Click here to submit your photo

Winners will be notified after December 1st.

International Education Week Sticker Giveaway

Everyone loves free stuff! Come pick up your special IEW sticker at the CGE front desk.

OCA Mocha Drink Special

Stop by OCA Mocha during IEW and enjoy their Chai Latte special!

Monday, November 14

Fulbright International Education Administrator Award

  • Time: 11 a.m. – Noon

Fulbright isn’t just for students and faculty. UMBC Staff can also apply for this globally prestigious award. Dr. Nancy Young, 2022 recipient of the Fulbright International Education Administrator Award for France, and Dr. Brian Souders, UMBC’s Fulbright Program Advisor, will present on their experiences with the award, as well as the application process.

Korean Game Corner!

  • Time: Noon – 1 p.m.

Korean game event with several stations where participants can play Korean games.

  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: Performing Arts & Humanities Sculpture Forum

Finding and Creating Community Away from Home

  • Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Join the Center for Democracy and Civic Life for “Finding and Creating Community Away from Home,” a facilitated conversation among international students and students who have studied abroad or intend to do so. The conversation will focus on how participants have been or hope to be able to form meaningful connections and make contributions in their temporary communities (geographic, campus, etc.).

  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: Commons 318

Postgraduate Study in Scotland

  • Time: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Come prepared to learn the differences between the US and UK postgraduate degree structure, the financial and academic advantages of studying a postgraduate degree in Scotland, and how to submit a successful application to some of the world’s top ranked universities.

Going Global For Graduate School!

  • Time: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Dr. Brian Souders, the Center for Global Engagement’s associate director for global awards will lead a session on the ways that you can look to fund an international graduate program. Options include the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the Erasmus-Mundus Program, as well as government funding options throughout the world.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program Information Session

  • Time: 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Did you know that UMBC TESOL students have won the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to teach English overseas? What about our TESOL program international partnerships to complete your MA TESOL non-certification internship? If you’re interested in learning more about applying for a Fulbright U.S. Student award or in completing your non-certification internship abroad, join us for a conversation with Dr. Lee and Dr. Souders that will address questions you may have. Must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for Fulbright.

Gratefulness Beyond Borders

  • Time: 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.

ILE International mentors (from France, Spain, China, Japan) and ILE students will share presentations on international celebrations and practices to express gratitude in different countries and cultures. All participants will have the opportunity to write thank you notes in different languages and show and share cultural artifacts, products etc. featured at those celebrations.

  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: Harbor Hall, MPR

Tuesday, November 15

Trauma: Reliving War

  • Time: 11 a.m. – Noon

This event examines the long-term impact of war on individuals and communities. It begins with a brief historical overview Kosovo, a small country in the Western Balkans region of Europe which has endured violence over centuries of conflict, and most recently (1998-1999) war.

To reflect on traumatic experiences, in this case of Albanians in Kosovo, the Oscar- Nominated short drama film called ‘Shok’ (translation: Friend) will take us back to the 1990s war in Kosovo to center on two young boys, their friendship, and their narrative in a war-torn land. The film will be followed by a brief discussion about the fundamental psycho-social elements expressed in the movie. The second part of the event will proceed with a small presentation about trauma and the mental health consequences of war. Following trauma, people often do not experience natural recovery for a long time. They are faced with intrapersonal and interpersonal suffering, inevitably leading to unhealthy family functioning. On the other hand, being exposed to psychological suffering due to children’s families’ war exposure impacts children greatly during their development. This phenomenon, called intergenerational trauma negatively affects children’s emotional responsiveness as well as their behavior. The final piece to this event will be discussing protective factors and pathways to Resilience in children of war, as well as aiding the process of recovery.

  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: Sherman Building, A wing, room 109

What Exactly is Race Got to do With Maryland? Intersecting Race, Displacement, Identity and the Pleasure of (Second) Language Learning

  • Time: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Awad Ibrahim — award-winning author, professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Education, and expert in cultural studies, Hip-Hop, youth and Black popular culture, social justice, and diasporic and continental African identities — will speak about how and why race plays a role in language learning (first or second language). He will show how a group of Black (second) language learners speak Blackness; that is, how Blackness influences their language acquisition, how they discover their own Blackness, and experience the process of becoming Black.

  • Delivery: Virtual
  • Link: To receive the meeting link, RSVP by e-mail to TESOL@umbc.edu

English Program in Korea (EPIK) Visit

  • Time: 7:10 p.m. – 8:10 p.m.

This event will host EPIK (English Program in Korea), which is an international opportunity for ESL teachers to experience teaching English as a foreign language. Our guests will discuss the program, its benefits, and the application process of becoming a teacher for the program.

  • Delivery: Virtual
  • Link to join: Click here!
  • Password: 9CPmJsJ3av6

Wednesday, November 16

Study Abroad 101

  • Time: 11 a.m. – Noon

Study Abroad 101 is the first step to studying abroad at UMBC! Attend this session to learn the basics such as different program options, study abroad scholarships and how to find programs through our website!

Conducting Research in a Foreign Environment: Stories and Secrets from International Researchers

  • Time: Noon – 12:50 p.m.

Please join faculty members from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences to hear about their life experiences conducting research in a foreign environment. Faculty will give a brief introduction about their own journeys and provide tips on how to conduct research in a new country and how to enjoy and succeed in this adventure. Students will have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions.

  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: UC 115D (CASTLE room, University Center, 1st floor)

Gender, Latin America, and Performance

  • Time: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
This panel will discuss cross-dressing cancionistas (singers) on Argentinian radio and feminist Mexican protests against femicides and their use of glitter as performance.
In this talk, Thania Muñoz and Jessica Berman will discuss two forms of performance in Latin America: glitter protests and tango singers. Thania Muñoz will discuss her research on “Glitter Bombing” —a political action— in response to alleged rapes against teenage girls perpetrated by the local police and the lack of immediate attention to this act by the Security Minister in Mexico City. By doing an archival transnational literary and journalistic revision of the movement’s origins, from a social justice perspective, Muñoz argues glitter has turned into a sparkly tool of solidarity and protest. By analyzing “glitter bombings” and the performative bodily use of glitter in contemporary feminists’ movements in Mexico, she traces how amidst a violent Nation-State against women, glitter has been used as an instrument to protest patriarchal violence and at the same time to shine on those feminists’ allies who continue to demand justice.
Berman will discuss her research on the development of radio in Argentina in the early 20th century and the rise of Argentine women as tango singers (or cancionistas) and composers at the same time. Berman will argue that modern habits of listening engendered by recorded sound and broadcast radio help propel new ways of understanding embodiment, intimacy, and relation in Argentina in the twenties and thirties, which we can see in the shifting ways that women sound their presence in the world of tango.
  • Delivery: Virtual
  • Link to join: Click here
  • Password: TqTVUfhR562

The Rise of the Far-Right in Europe

  • Time: 4 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Description: Speakers in this panel will discuss the rise of right-wing extremism in Europe, focusing on the war in Ukraine, Brexit, and the election of neo-fascists in Italy. Panelists: Carolyn Forestiere, Professor, Political Science Brian Grodsky, Professor and Chair, Political Science Daniel Ritschel, Associate Professor, History Mirjam Voerkelius, Assistant Professor, History

How to Be a Better Ally: Global Cultural Awareness

  • Time: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

This co-facilitated series features underrepresented and/or marginalized populations. Our goal is for participants to learn more about power, privilege and best practices by using population specific allyship techniques.

  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: The Mosaic 2B23 The Commons

Town Hall on China

  • Time: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Join us for an online town hall-style discussion of China-U.S. relations with Dr. Jon Huntsman, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, China, and Singapore. After the event, UMBC’s Dr. Meredith Oyen and Goucher College’s Dr. Evan Dawley will continue the conversation!

  • Delivery: Virtual
  • Link to Join: Click here
  • Password: 3Zu7QreFsF5

Thursday, November 17

Finding your Program Fit for Study/Intern Abroad

  • 11 a.m. – Noon

Explore options for international internships and study abroad!

Infinite Transformations: Multimedia Explorations of Embodied Persian Poetry

  • Time: 1p.m. – 2 p.m.

In this panel, we will discuss our work-in-progress on Infinite Transformations, a multimedia transdisciplinary project that bridges the fields of bioart, audio design, and visualization through combining cutting-edge scientific discoveries with medieval concepts in Persian poetry and architecture. In this project, we bring together genetically-modified wine infused with Hafiz’s poetry and sonic and visual explorations of patterns and motifs from Persian architecture. Infinite Transformation is supported by an IRC Faculty Research Fellowship.

UMBC faculty collaborators participating:

  • Foad Hamidi, assistant professor of information systems
  • Linda Dusman, professor of music
  • Alan Wonneberger, principal Lecturer in music and director of recording
  • Ryan Zuber, artist and animator at UMBC’s NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and technical director of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center
  • Lydia Stamato, a doctoral student in human-centered computing
  • Tagide DeCarvalho, director of Keith Porter Imaging Facility
  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: ITE 459

Alumni Spotlight: Insights from EFL Educators

  • Time: 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

What is it like teaching abroad? What challenges or surprises are in store for EFL teachers? What teaching opportunities are available for UMBC students beyond the public school system? Join us in a discussion with TESOL alumni Bridget Jordan and Matthew Gleason about their international English teaching experiences, their teaching strategies, and life outside of the classroom.

  • Delivery: Virtual
  • Link to join: Click here!
  • Password: vzW5yXgiZ63

UMBC Women’s Basketball Game

Celebrate IEW with UMBC home basketball game!

  • Start time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
  • Free with UMBC ID card
  • Not part of passport raffle

Friday, November 18

MLLI Research Day 2022

  • 10 a.m – 2 p.m.

This event is to celebrate the research done by our MLLI community who is composed of a very international diversity cohort of both faculty and students. Our  Faculty members are originally from Canada, US, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador,  El Salvador, Nicaragua, Morocco, Senegal, China, Japan, Spain, France, Germany, India, Hungary, Russia among others.

During the Annual MLLI research Day 2022, MLLI  faculty and graduate/undergraduate students present about their research (10-12 and 1-2pm)
An ” INCC Alumni happy hour” also takes place 12-1pm to reunite our INCC alumni from the MA in Intercultural Communication (INCC)  (as well as faculty and grads) to share about their current research, job opportunities, and life events since they graduated.  Alumni connect virtually from different parts of the world.  This is and international networking opportunity for our current INCC graduate students to learn from possible job/academic applications after they complete their INCC MA program.
  • Delivery: Virtual
  • Link to Join: Click here
  • Password: PdtiCCKd332

Global Aging Education

  • Time: 11 a.m. – Noon

This session introduces a few examples of global aging-related education both in educational and professional settings. Specifically, we will discuss a graduate-level global aging course with Japanese collaborators, and nursing home worker education from cross-cultural perspectives.

UMBC Faculty participating in this event:

  • Takashi Yamashita, Professor of Sociology & Gerontology
  • Nancy Kusmaul, Associate Professor of Social Work

Saying Thanks Around the World

  • Time: Noon – 1 p.m.

This is a hybrid event to celebrate IEW and have some coffee and pie with us!

  • Delivery: Hybrid
  • Location and Link to join: UC 201B or click here

UMBC Men’s Basketball Game

Close out a week of IEW celebrations and activities at a UMBC home basketball game!

  • Time: 2:00 p.m.
  • Delivery: In-person
  • Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
  • Free with UMBC ID card
  • Not part of passport raffle