An international Manchester student gets a fifth award for his work within 6 months.

Joseph Akinnagbe and his team at the University society Manchester Entrepreneurs received a fifth award within 6 months of working on their project. The fifth award was from the National Enterprise Educator Award for the support him and his group gave the graduate businesses such as GiveMeTap and Easy Sleep Music. He is an undergraduate and was also awarded Student of the Year by the National Union of Students.

Joseph also received a trophy and a cash prize from National Enterprise Educator Award organisers, the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs and Young Enterprise. The Nigerian student was applauded by the judges for being creative and his ability to inspire and empower the individuals he worked with.

He has finished his tenure as president of the Manchester Entrepreneurs society, and is also a member of the Ernst and Young Top 30 UK Undergraduates, a National Black Achievers winner and a member of RAW Northwest, a group of the top 250 entrepreneurs in the region.
He is also a world youth leader with One Young World and was elected the International Student Officer in the University of Manchester Student Union executive.

You can follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/josephakinnagbe .

Tik Root, a Middlebury College student missing in Syria during a protest is found.

Tik Root a 21 year old Middlebury College student of Ripton, Vermont disappeared March 18, 2011 in Damascus. He  is studying this spring in an Arabic program through Damascus University.

Tom Root said his son likely watched a protest, but would not have participated. The U.S. embassy in Syria was seeking information on his whereabouts as his parents believe he was detained by authorities there during a demonstration. The Syrian Embassy in Washington D.C was also made aware of Mr Root's situation.
On saturday the student's parents declared that their son has been found, and they understand that he is safe. He remains in the hands of the Syrian authorities, who are currently responsible for him. 

Dr. Beverly Hartline presents a Girl Power Community Engagement Seminar in South Africa.

Dr. Beverly Karplus Hartline, the acting Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences would be presenting a Girl Power Community Engagement Seminar in South Africa titled "Advancing Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering: Challenges and Strategies from the USA." on March 31, 2011.

This CSET Community engagement in South Africa is directed by Prof. Mamokgethi Setati, the Executive Dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology.

For more information contact:

 Yvonne Tlhowe

tlhowy@unisa.ac.za

Tel: 012 - 429 8268

OIPE joins in congratulating Selvon Malcolm Waldron on receiving a grant from Brita FilterForGood as part of the 2011 Eco-Challenge program.

                                                      
OIPE, Malcolm, Jackie; Farley, Mark, Parker, Craig W. , Jumper and Barbara
 joins in congratulating Selvon Malcolm Waldron on receiving a grant from Brita FilterForGood as part of the 2011 Eco-Challenge program.
Selvon Malcolm Waldron , a MBA student in International Buisness is committed to sustainability here in UDC and is currently the Eco-Challenge Ambassador.

With so much crisis in the world, would our intellectual space be impacted on ?

With so much crisis in the world, would our intellectual space be impacted on?
How are our counterparts in colleges around the globe doing?
Are you paying attention to the challenges for college students in Japan, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia etc ?
How does the natural disater, demonstrations and global chaos affect youths, international students and what are the consequences?

UDC selected as one of the five U.S.-Ethiopian Universities Partnerships To Receive U.S. Embassy Money Grants.

Press Release                                                                                            

Embassy of the United States of America                                                        

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia                                                       For further information, call 011-130-7318

Addis Ababa, March 9:   The Embassy of the United States of America today announced the results of a small grant competition to provide seed money for innovative partnerships between U.S. and Ethiopian universities.  Five grants of $15,000 each will be awarded to new research, academic exchange and curriculum development partnerships between:

1.  Wollo University/Langston University -- Development of a Center for Small Ruminant Artificial Insemination.

2.  Wolaita Sodo University/University of Florida – Archeology and Cultural Heritage Management Training

3.  Jimma University/Cornell University – Clean-burning Cookstove Development Project.

4.  Hawassa University/Washington State University – Anthropology Teaching Support and Research Collaboration.

5.  Bahir Dar University/University of the District of Columbia – Research Partnership on Renewable Energy.

U.S. Ambassador Donald E. Booth noted:  “Ethiopia’s visionary expansion of tertiary education throughout the country opens up many educational opportunities.  The U.S. Embassy is delighted to provide initial funding to support new and innovative collaborations and partnerships between higher education institutions in Ethiopia and in the U.S.”

The objectives of the grant competition were to a) grow mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships between U.S. and Ethiopian universities and colleges, b) introduce new higher education institutions to U.S. and Ethiopian partnerships, and c) strengthen the skills and experience of faculty and administrators in both countries in developing and implementing partnerships.

2011/16                                                               Internet Address:  http://ethiopia.usembassy.gov

Fukushima prefecture governor Yuhei Sato states people are angry over Japan nuclear chaos.

Engineers are racing to avert a nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi, badly damaged by Friday's quake and tsunami. The governor of the region at the centre of Japan's nuclear crisis has groused official managing the evacuation of the region around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The evacuation zone is said to be around 20km (12-mile).

Fukushima prefecture governor Yuhei Sato stated: "Anxiety and anger felt by people have reached boiling point." A population of 140,000 residents living around the facility was advised on Tuesday not to leave their houses.Fukushima prefecture governor Yuhei Sato said aid centers presently accommodating people who had been dislocated from their houses near the plant do not have enough hot meals and basic supplies.

"We're lacking everything," he states.Thousands of people have been said to be killed from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami.

Earthquake in Japan.

The world is reacting with shock at the huge quake and tsunami that has devastated Japan, although people there have learnt to expect natural disasters, this is the worst they have had since 1923, when the great Kanto earthquake distraught   Tokyo as fire swept across a city built of wooden houses, killing an estimated 140,000 people.

 Information from the Japan's Geonet network of around 1,200 GPS monitoring stations hints a large dislocation after the massive quake last week on March 11, 2011.The quake possibly moved the Earth on its axis by about 6.5 inches (16.5cm) and caused the Earth to rotate a bit faster which would shorten the length of the day by about 1.8 millionths of a second.Japan's coastline may have shifted by as much as 13 feet to the east after Friday's 8.9 Magnitude earthquake according to experts.

Food, water and fuel are said to be running short in some parts of Japan and large swathes of the country remain without power.The central bank has infused a record of 15tn yen ($184bn) into money markets, as the Tokyo stock market drops on the first business day since the earthquake. Prime Minister Naoto Kan advises his country to unite and rebuild as it struggles to survive with the wreckage done by the quake and tsunami. He states that Japan is facing its worst crisis since World War II.

Survivors comfort each another in Otsuchicho, Japan,where 10,000 people are unaccounted for after the earthquake.

Japanese soldiers and Red Cross workers are carrying out a relief effort in north-east Japan.

Rikuzentakata, a town with a population of 23,000 almost flattened out after earthquake, number of survivors not yet accounted.

Germany voted as best on an international index for supporting international students.

Germany has been voted as the best on an international index representing how well countries support international students.
It reflects Germany's policy of internationalisation in their university system and also an increase in number of universities courses are taught in English.
Source: BBC World: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12682858

Three UDC Honor Students visit Salzburg, Austria.

Three UDC honor students over the course of January 3 through January 10, 2011 visited Salzburg, Austria to represent UDC in the Global seminar themed: 'Global Citizenship: America and the World’. The seminar was sponsored by Mellon Fellow Community Initiative (MFCI) and was attended by college students across the US and globe.

The seminar focused on global leadership and student impact on the issue around the world. Implications of poverty, genocide, war and economic gap between some nations and the changes needed. The effects of all this problems on global students and how to prevent them. Among other things was a victim of the Bosnia and Herzegovina War in Eastern Europe addressing the students about the war and its impact to her nation and life.

The UDC students also gave a presentation on the global issues, the motivation and empowerment to make a difference in communities and globally.

UDC students.....

Some of the attendants at the seminar...

                                           College students making a presentation...

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Leading figures in higher education opposes government plans to limit UK visas for international students.

The government is consulting on plans to reduce student visas for those studying below degree level and to raise English language requirements. It says the system is abused and net migration needs to be reduced. It has pledged to reduce net migration from its current 215,000 to less than 100,000 by 2015.

But universities argue on the grounds that international students provide about 9% of the sector's income. A study for the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) advices the decision would slash the number of foreign students coming to UK universities which would result in a loss of billions of pounds in income.

The president of the National Union of Students, Aaron Porter raised concerns about the effect of the decision on some institutions like the London School of Economics, in which 70% of students are from an international background.

A Home Office analysis found that 20% of people who were granted student visas in 2004 were still in the UK in 2009. Immigration Minister Damian Green stated that "Too many individuals applying to study at below degree level have been coming here to live and work instead. We need to stop this abuse."

Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12296161

               http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12496610

Debate over international players in US college tennis.

In US college sports, a debate stirs between proponents and opponents of international players obtaining scholarships and competing in collegiate sports. BBC's Franz Strasser drew together the opinions of leading tennis coaches and officials in US college sports which included Jill Hultquist (women's tennis coach, University of Washington) , Tim Cass (Associate Athletics Director, University of New Mexico), Mike Lancaster (owner athleticscholarships.net), Tony Minnis (men's tennis coach, Louisiana State) , Rodney Harmon (former USTA men's tennis director), Geoff MacDonald (women's tennis coach, Vanderbilt) and others.

Read more at:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12561545

Global Health Issues: A Focus on the Role of Nurses.

The Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health states that an additional 2.6 to 3.5 million healthcare workers would contribute significantly to the lowest-income countries reaching the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. The requirements to achieve this universal health coverage in a wider range of countries would be higher.

The progress report on the  global action taken demonstrates some advances, as well as challenges requiring increased attention, in the priority countries most affected by health workforce challenges.The second Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (HRH) reviewed progress and renewed the commitment to strengthening the health of the global populations. The global supply and distribution of the nursing workforce is essential towards acquiring this goal.

UDC hosts Chinese students from High-School attached to Harbin Institute of Technology .

On the initiative of the Office of International Programs and Exchange, 34 students from a China High-School attached to Harbin Institute of Technology are being hosted on the campus the University of the District of Columbia (UDC).

On their arrival on February 7^th 2011, the students were met by the Director and staffs of the Office of International Programs and Exchange (OIPE) in collaboration with the Office of Admission and Student Affairs. The students were also greeted by Associate Professor Dr Jian Hua from the School of Business and Public Administration.

A program of activities planned for the students include a Welcome address by the Director of International Programs and Exchange; presentation by Office of Admission and Student Affairs. The tour of the UDC campus conducted by the Office of Student Affairs; followed by lunch at the UDC Fresh start Firebird Inn.

Accompanying the students were facilitators from the China Economic and Cultural Development Alliance in collaboration with US-China ECDA.  The University of the District of Columbia was their first stop in their visit to Washington DC and they would spend three days engaged in activities set up by OIPE. The activities included are a tour of OAS Headquarters and Museum of the Americas, a discussion focusing on Diplomatic etiquette, a tour of Embassy Row and a visit to Bangladesh Embassy and Embassy of Pakistan.

Read more at:

http://www.udc.edu/udc_communications/press/2011-02-07_UDC_hosts_Chinese_student_%20from_High_School_attached_to_Harbin_Institute_of_Technology.htm

Welcome address by the Director of International Programs and Exchange:

                                         Presentation by Office of Admission and Student Affairs:

Lunch at the UDC Fresh start Firebird :

The students with UDC Provost Graeme Baxter, J.D.

In the Office of International Programs and Exchange with Ambassador Antoine.

A short clip:

U.S. student, Lauren Bohn opts to stay back in Egypt as the protests ripple across the nation.

Lauren E. Bohn from Philadelphia is a 2010-2011 Fulbright fellow in Egypt. She will be studying Arabic and Middle East Studies at the American University in Cairo, with a focus on gender and migration studies. She has a passion for international studies, cultural anthropology and multimedia storytelling.

Lauren Bohn opts to stay back in Egypt even as the tension rises within the country.
You can follow her on twitter for updates at http://twitter.com/#!/laurenbohn .

Rate your study abroad.

Rate your study abroad and see the ratings around the globe at http://www.rateyourstudyabroad.com/.



 

Welcome !!!

Bravo !
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit the UDC GLOBAL blog !

 Welcome back from the mini holiday, I hope everyone had a wonderful time?
It is a great delight setting up this blog with hopes of it becoming our vicinage for interacting with each other and sharing events from all around the world and here in UDC.

I anticipate it to be a great tool for campus internationalization where UDC students originating from all over the world learn more about each other and share their success stories and rough patches here in UDC anonymously or otherwise. A great tool for broadening our insight about the various cultures, countries and continents of students in UDC.

Among other things, you can find upcoming events for the semester under ‘Save the Date!!!’ in the Highlights tab on the right side. Sometimes students are so busy they can not attend most of this events, so the posts on some of them can be found here.

In the same tab is a weekly post titled "Picture of the Week".
Its objective is to enlighten us weekly about a country and continent of a UDC student.

This is how it goes, you email me udc_global@yahoo.com your picture (preferably in your national attire, else ways is fine) and your information as shown below:

           Full Name:
           Major:
           Continent:
           Country of Origin:
           Language or Dialect:
           Meaning of name:
           Three words with which you would describe your continent:
          
I encourage everyone to send me theirs and I also could randomly get this information from students on campus, please do not hesitate to participate.

Click on this post and please drop a comment below the page about what you expect to see on this blog.

Welcome once again !!!

A fall in admission of prospective students into UK universities.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) statistics for 2010 recently released shows that more than 210,000 prospective students were not admitted into universities in the UK. Also the number of British students accepted in courses falls by 400, in spite of an increase in international students in the UK.
Some universities welcome the rise, cautioning against cuts in student visas for the UK.

There are concerns about high demand for university placements this year, as students hastening to beat tuition fee rises in 2012 compete with those who failed to get admissions in 2009-10.

Read more on this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12244289

UCAS Final end of year figures for 2010

Table 1 - Applicants and acceptances by gender (all domiciles)

Year	Applicants			Accepted applicants
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
2010	306,907	390,444	697,351	220,085	267,244	487,329
2009	284,757	355,103	639,860	218,185	263,669	481,854
% change	7.8%	10.0%	9.0%	0.9%	1.4%	1.1%

Table 7 - Accepted applicants from overseas domiciled applicants by country of domicile - countries with 600 or more acceptances in the 2009 cycle*

Country	2010	2009	Percent change
China	8,321	6,509	+27.8%
Ireland	2,992	2,823	+6.0%
Hong Kong	2,928	2,575	+13.7%
France	2,696	3,194	-15.6%
Cyprus	2,626	2,610	+0.6%
Germany	2,402	2,415	-0.5%
Malaysia	2,296	2,390	-3.9%
India	1,802	1,843	-2.2%
Nigeria	1,638	1,592	+2.9%
Greece	1,608	1,527	+5.3%
Romania	1,529	976	+56.7%
Lithuania	1,527	895	+70.6%
Bulgaria	1,515	1,283	+18.1%
Not Known	1,502	1,189	+26.3%
Singapore	1,429	1,187	+20.4%
United States of America	1,398	1,330	+5.1%
Norway	1,135	959	+18.4%
Poland	1,032	1,238	-16.6%
Italy	1,019	873	+16.7%
Pakistan	1,014	1,081	-6.2%
Canada	997	914	+9.1%
Spain	975	869	+12.2%
Saudi Arabia	958	772	+24.1%
Sweden	931	808	+15.2%
Korea (South)	718	618	+16.2%
Latvia	715	445	+60.7%
Belgium	622	605	+2.8%
All overseas	62,695	56,791	+10.4%