This month as epidemiologists study the potential threat from the omicron variant, pandemic hospitalizations rise with the onset of winter, and travel requirements tighten again, Global Affairs is pleased to celebrate a small but important victory over COVID.
By the end of December, close to 100 undergraduates will successfully conclude fall semester study abroad programs in 12 countries around the world and return home safely and in good health. At the graduate level, 22 graduate students safely conducted international research and field work, and more than 100 MBA students at Darden participated in internationally based programs abroad.
Our success in reviving study abroad this fall built on the lessons and successes of our trial programs in the summer and featured an expansion of some of our traditional exchange programs. It wasn’t as easy as it used to be – students endured long trans-oceanic flights fully masked with greatly limited food service, countless nasal swab tests, and uncertainty over whether they would be stranded overseas because of new travel restrictions.
While a tiny fraction of students suffered minor and mostly asymptomatic COVID infections in the summer and fall, their 100% vaccination rates and smart compliance with public health measures helped ensure that no one suffered from serious illness while successfully completing their academic programs abroad.
Most importantly, our study abroad experience this summer and fall shows that with prudent precautions, UVA students and faculty can safely re-engage with the world and reap the special rewards in personal growth and intellectual perspective that come with living and studying abroad. We are already moving forward with dozens of applications from students eager to study abroad in spring 2022, when we are confident that we will likely more than double the number of students studying abroad this fall.
As we build back our study abroad programs, we plan to make them more accessible and inclusive than ever before. Despite the pandemic, our global team in University Advancement has continued to enjoy remarkable success in soliciting philanthropy to support an even greater number of scholarships for students who need help in covering the costs of participating in international programs.
During Global Week this fall, we assisted more than 20 students in obtaining their first-ever passports. We have begun engaging with groups of students who have historically participated in study abroad programs at lower-than-average rates to overcome barriers that are standing in their way. And this month, our Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation funded a record number of graduate students to conduct global research in 2022.
In the new year, we will look to revive past popular programs that the pandemic forced us to suspend, such as the Global First program that puts first-semester Hoos abroad, research service opportunities for undergraduates in Center for Global Health Equity programs, and combination classroom/internship opportunities, all while we make plans for a return of J-Term abroad in January 2023. Our global engagement will be stronger not just because of our return to study abroad.
As we move beyond the pandemic, we plan to continue and grow many of the innovations that health-related travel restrictions forced us to develop, such as our Global Mentors program that virtually puts international practitioners in UVA classrooms and virtual global internships that allow students to engage with the world online. Before long, UVA students will have more opportunities than ever before to engage with the world. One of those opportunities being CGII student awards that funded a record number of graduate students this year to continue their global research in 2022. As you make new year resolutions for 2022, make sure one of them is to get out there!
Stay Global!
