On one of the final Fridays of the semester, students, faculty, and staff filled the fourth floor of the Ferguson International Center for the second annual Global Learning Showcase. Organized by Global Learning Specialist Andrea Nikolova of the Center for the Study of Global Change, the event began with a keynote from Svitlana Ramer, the Honorary Consul of Ukraine to Indiana, who had just begun her work at IU when Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. After a welcome from Center Director Eli Konwest and Dean John Ciorciari, faculty involved in the many internationally engaged projects shared remarks before the main event: student poster presentations.
The posters covered projects ranging from interior design and inclusive event planning to evaluating earthquake impacts and social determinants of health. Five IU Bloomington academic schools were represented across the 30 posters: the College of Arts and Sciences; Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design; Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies; Kelley School of Business; and the School of Public Health.
Through IU Global supported initiatives like Global Classroom, Client-Based International Projects (CLIP), Diplomacy Lab, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), students engaged in real-world problem solving and global analysis. Anna Meyers, a graduate student in meteorology, spent her final semester of graduate school advising the Department of State as a part of a Diplomacy Lab class headed by retiring Professor Michael Hamburger. “I really didn’t expect to be taking on a new project this close to graduation,” she said. “It was a really cool experience because we got to see the hands-on, tangible impacts of our research.” Classmate Kaylor Jasiak agreed, adding, “This is a super interesting project and thought process. We got to learn and collaborate with so many people. I would say this was an excellent opportunity to sort of start expanding your situational awareness in the world.”
Sanjana Jain, a student in one of the public health courses that focused on the SDGs was surprised by both the applicability and action orientation of her experience. “This project was very eye opening because I’m a pre-medical student, and this is a little detached from my coursework,” she said. “Stepping into the global and public health world has really shown me what issues are impacting my community and being able to see what actions I can take both as a student and within my future career to make a positive impact.”
Kelley School of Business freshman and CLIP project participant Andrew Vent appreciated his experience consulting with a Moroccan events business beyond just its positive impact in the classroom. “This was my first time working with a real client,” he said. “There’s so much going on outside of Indiana University, or wherever you are from. This project really gives you a broad perspective. It was very beneficial to me, but honestly super fun working with a real-life client as a freshman in college, and it’s a fantastic opportunity.” His co-presenter, Alan, had a different background, but similar outcomes. “As an international student, I found this project really useful because I have the opportunity to learn with these multinational corporations,” he said. “Doing this project boosted my analytical skills, communication skills, and yeah, I think it helped my career.”
The skill building and broadening of perspectives was a theme across participants, even those who had previous experience with cross-collaborative, international projects, like Hamilton Lugar School Global Consultant, Maya Ringo. “I definitely think there’s benefit for global learning in any type of major in any specialty,” she said. “There are a lot of different skills that you can build up—such as research and scale modeling, evaluation and learning—all sorts of different things that that can be applied to any major. The benefit of these projects is that you gain people skill and cultural awareness, which is, again, something that spreads across many fields. It doesn’t just have to be internationally or internationally focused.”
Students and faculty may now be taking a break from academics as the spring semester comes to a close, but planning for next year’s global learning projects—and the celebratory showcase—is well under way, continuing IU’s long tradition of producing globally engaged, well-rounded changemakers.
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