Students gathered in the MUB for an International Education Week event in the fall.
In a continuing effort to bring UNH to the world and the world to UNH, the university has announced a centralized international programs office on campus, bringing together the Center for International Education and the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS).
The new Center for International Education and Global Engagement will actively promote international engagement and cross-cultural understanding as well as coordinate the exchange of people and ideas, making global issues central to a UNH education. This consolidated unit is responsible for international student and scholar services, education abroad, the international affairs dual major/minor program and global initiatives.
The new center recently announced its partnership with the Institute of International Education to double the number of students studying abroad from 750 per year to 1,500 by 2020. By making study abroad more accessible to students, the center aspires to have 50 percent of UNH’s total undergraduate population participate in a foreign experience.
“The benefit of study abroad in terms of students’ careers and professional development is profound,” says Luchen Li, associate provost for international programs.
“Research shows that businesses value cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to work in diverse, multicultural teams, and they look to study abroad as evidence of this ability.”
“Research shows that businesses value cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to work in diverse, multicultural teams, and they look to study abroad as evidence of this ability.”
The center will bring together all things international at UNH, making it easier for students and faculty to build and enhance their international engagement, and the center will welcome students and faculty from around the world to UNH's campuses. The goal is for every member of the UNH community to have a deep understanding of other peoples and cultures, Li says.
The center will continue to operate from its two current campus locations while a suitable space is found to accommodate the combined staff. International students and scholars will continue to be served by OISS in Thompson Hall, while education abroad, the international affairs dual major/minor program and global initiatives will maintain offices on the second floor of Hood House. A chair for the international affairs dual major/minor program was recently appointed to lead the interdisciplinary program.
