News & Events
Keep up on news about UNMC's community of international students and study abroad students.
Our Signature Events
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International Student Welcome Lunch & Ambassador Appreciation
This September event for international students provides a time for meeting and learning about each other and UNMC.
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Celebrate Culture!
An event called Celebrate Culture! is held in in conjunction with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May. Interactive tables, representative of these countries, featured calligraphy, ddakji (a traditional game played using folded paper tiles), lantern making, liusu (tassel) making, origami and trivia.
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Holi Festival
The International Student Association hosts the Festival of Colors, an annual spring event celebrating the Hindu Holi Festival. The event, symbolizing rejuvenation and optimism, celebrates the arrival of spring after winter, signifies the victory of good over evil, and, for many, a festive day to meet others, laugh, forgive and forget.
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International Education Week
The annual International Education Week is a campus-wide event held during the fall semester and features clothing, foods, music and traditions from a variety of cultures represented at UNMC. Walk through a global experience and discover what makes each culture unique, while also finding the connections that bring us all together. These events are organized by UNMC’s International Student Association.
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Chinese Cultural Fair
The Chinese Cultural Fair is held every year around the Chinese New Year, providing an opportunity to to celebrate Chinese culture with food, crafts, games, music and dance. UNMC’s Chinese Scholarship Council students are the main organizers of the event.
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International Photo Contest
Our annual photo contest, open to all members of the UNMC community, features photos capturing the culture, spirit and landscapes of other countries, inspiring adventure, cultural awareness and diversity. The 2023 grand prize winning photo above, by Devashri Gandhi, is titled "Purity of Soul."
D.J. and Janet Thayer Family Global Engagement Award
Introduction
The D.J. and Janet Thayer Family Global Engagement Award is designed to grow or build collaborations in global health and global engagement by full-time UNMC faculty. Global health and engagement involve the various ways faculty work to connect UNMC to the world through their teaching, research and service.
The D.J. and Janet Thayer Family Global Engagement Award provides up to $10,000 toward building or growing global partnerships or projects and may be used for travel expenses, conference attendance or coordination, publications, research projects, etc. that promote global health and global engagement.
Eligibility
All full-time UNMC faculty are eligible.
The goal of these funds is to provide resources for building or growing collaborations with international partners. This funding may be used for faculty development and/or research partnerships and other global engagement projects. Funds may not be used for salary support, to compensate for revenue losses or replace other funding.
Process and Procedures
The D.J. and Janet Thayer Family Global Engagement Award may be awarded for up to $10,000 to be spent over a maximum of two years. A report at the end of each year is required.
Applications for the D.J. and Janet Thayer Family Global Engagement Award will be awarded annually in April. The deadline for applications is January 26, 2026. The D.J. and Janet Thayer Family Global Engagement Award Committee will review all applications and make funding recommendations.
Go to this link to begin the application process: https://forms.office.com/r/VrRfTnxWRF.
There are four parts to the application. All parts are required. Applications that are not totally completed will not be submitted through the online form.
- Personal information
- Supporting documents
This includes applicant’s personal statement, project description and budget.
- Dean/director/chair letter of support
The letter should describe:
- How the proposed project or partnership meets the goals for the faculty and the department, college or institute
- The applicant’s current and future role within the department, college or institute
- The sustainability plan for continued funding after the period of this award
- Applicant's CV
This should be an up-to-date document that reinforces the applicant's qualifications and commitment to global engagement.
Application materials must be received electronically by January 26, 2026, for full consideration by the Global Engagement Award Committee. The winner will be required to submit a report by April 1, 2027. If you have questions, please contact Jane Meza at jmeza@unmc.edu.
Office of Global Engagement Announces International Photo Contest winners
The Potters Touch,” by Santosh Shrestha, is the grand prize winner of the Fifth Annual International Photo Contest.
The Office of Global Engagement has announced the winners of its Fifth Annual International Photo Contest.
View all the 2025 submitted photos here.
Read Our Publications
Keep up with our news, important updates and events through our publications, including our annual reports, quarterly newsletters and monthly bulletins.
All linked publications are pdf files.