The University of Nebraska system has released its 2020 report on global engagement, highlighting recent successes of faculty, staff and students from across the four campuses in building international connections and awareness in an increasingly globalized world.
In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic — which has presented unique challenges related to faculty travel, study abroad and international student enrollment — all University of Nebraska campuses have continued to advance their critical work in international engagement. While some of that work looks different in a COVID-19 world, the university remains committed to engaging across borders to solve complex challenges and preparing students to live and work in a global economy.
“We generate new knowledge to help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems and insure our relevancy in a world of rapidly expanding information and data,” Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, wrote in an opening letter in the global engagement report. “Our present position of leadership in the fight against COVID-19 and previously, our response to the Ebola crises of 2014, are indicative of our efforts and successes.”
Global engagement successes highlighted in the report include:
- UNMC’s work in improving health outcomes in under-resourced settings, including efforts to improve the health of children in Nigeria through the International Foundation Against Infectious Disease in Nigeria. The country has one of the highest under-5 mortality rates in the world.
- A 2019 trip by a group of University of Nebraska at Kearney students to the Asian Undergraduate Research Symposium in Tokyo, where they had the opportunity to present their research to an international audience and learn about Japanese culture.
- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s recognition as a “Greatest Growth Institution” by the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, a U.S. Department of State award that supports study abroad opportunities for underrepresented undergraduates who may not otherwise be able to participate because of financial constraints.
- The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s celebration of 40 years of partnership with Shizuoka University in Japan, the longest active international partnership at UNO that allowed more than 2,000 students and faculty to participate in educational and cultural exchanges between the sister institutions.
The 2020 report is the final such global engagement report to be issued from the NU system. Central Administration has phased out its global engagement office and transitioned its work to the campus senior international officers.