International Education Week (IEW), a campus-wide event, brings together the university’s community of students, faculty and staff to participate in a variety of engaging, informative and culturally-rich events which collectively help to promote and celebrate language acquisition, international exchanges, cross-cultural awareness and global citizenship.
The third annual IEW takes place Nov. 14-18.
Currently, IEW is celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide, and this year, over 30 student organizations, academic departments, offices and community partners joined forces on 50 events at UT including: foreign and documentary film nights, roundtable discussions, international panels and forums, travel workshops, study abroad info sessions and more. (Download a PDF of scheduled events.)
IEW is an opportunity to celebrate the enriching benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of their efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the United States.
Event organizers describe their involvement with IEW below.
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Mariana De Carvalho
International Affairs Society (IAS), president
International Relations and Global Studies, senior
The International Affairs Society is a professional and social organization committed to the career development of our members and exploration of international relations. Our goal is to promote an intercultural way of life by creating a society of global leaders. IAS’s participation in International Education Week has always been strong as we truly believe in IEW initiatives and reach. Every year we offer an International Affairs Round Table at IEW bringing distinguished speakers to discuss with students about an interesting international topic. This year, for the first time IAS is hosting the Global Feast, which is one of the biggest intercultural exchange on campus. The Global Feast is an event offered to the UT community as an all-you-can-eat international dinner and performances by 12 of UT’s most talented student organizations.
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Maria Terrazzas
Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
International Summer Program Coordinator
The Center for International Business Education and Research has a commitment to the university and to its student body to provide quality international opportunities both abroad and on campus. Although CIBER’s core mission is to support internationalization of the McCombs School of Business, we consider this mission so important, that we also seek to go beyond serving business students only, and are committed to contribute to the internationalization of our university as a whole.
CIBER’s participation at International Education Week is one of the most important ways that we can achieve this, and we take great joy and pride in organizing events which we think UT students will enjoy and learn from. Our hope is that by hosting international events on campus, we may begin planting the seed of thinking internationally in our students, and perhaps one day, inspire them to consider an international experience outside of their country. This year, our two events go hand in hand in our effort to both inform students about the programs our center offers, and also prepare them to be a more globally aware traveler, once they have taken the leap to go abroad .
- Do you Speak Global?: Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
- CIBER International Programs Info Session: Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m.
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Antonella Del Fattore-Olson
Distinguished Senior Lecturer
Department of French and Italian
Rome Study Program, director
I have been teaching Italian language and culture at UT for many years, and during all these years I have been always impressed by the students’ enthusiasm in learning a new culture; their interest, involvement and lively curiosity are the best rewards for a foreign language instructor. I am very excited to participate in the IEW and be part of the celebration of ethnical diversity.
Through our Italian classes at UT, the extra curriculum activities of the Italian Club (informal conversation meetings, lectures, theater, movies, music) and the Rome Study Program in Rome, Italy, we try to open as many doors as possible to students and let them into a world rich of history, art, literature, and traditions and in which the past finds continuity into the present.
- Rome, Yesterday and Today: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 3-4 p.m.
Top 10 takeaways from IEW:
- Learn languages like Czech or Russian in an hour (okay, maybe not the whole language).
- Get all of your study abroad questions answered and more.
- Join the 60,000 others in the UT community in celebrating world perspective, cross-cultural exchange, and diversity appreciation.
- Connect with other students who are just as interested in all things international.
- Become a more informed global citizen.
- Get quizzed on something outside of classes — like World Trivia.
- Finally figure out how to nail that international job or internship.
- Learn global etiquette so you don’t experience those awkward cultural moments …
- Get training to prepare you to work, travel and live in an increasingly globalized economy.
- Eat as much authentic international food as you can get your hands on.
Photo caption from Know home page: Students Cameron Clawson, Garrison Taylor and Lauren Hughey in front of the Giza Pyramids in Egypt.
