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Service and Immersive Education in Calais

Posted on January 29, 2024 by Katie L

NYU London and NYU Paris students recently had the opportunity to go on a volunteer trip to the French port city of Calais. Situated on the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel, Calais is an important transfer point for people who are seeking asylum en route to the United Kingdom. The group of about 40 students supported Care4Calais, a nongovernmental organization that provides refugees with food, clothing, shelter, health care, and legal resources. Students helped out with various tasks, like sorting donations of clothing, food, and toiletries and cooking meals for volunteers. They also toured the Calais Lighthouse and WWII Museum and tasted local cuisine at Au Côté d’Argent.

People inspect tarps and tents in a large room

Care4Calais volunteers inspect donations

A Deeper Understanding of the European Refugee Crisis

For Margi DiPietro, a junior Global Liberal Studies major on the prehealth track who studied away at NYU Paris, traveling to Calais was an ideal opportunity to learn in real time the challenges asylum seekers and French citizens encounter. Moreover, she perceived an opportunity to build relevant experiences toward her goal of becoming a doctor for Médecins Sans Frontières. Prior to the trip, Margi gained insight into relevant issues in the course France and Islam. “We learned about the Calais Jungle and analyzed information about immigration in France and the French responses to the refugee crisis,” she says. “I had not realized that there are camps of this scale in Calais, or that refugees are trying to cross the English Channel on boats like you see in the Mediterranean.”

Unforgettable Personal Connections

Kaila Jones, a junior Theatre major studying away at NYU Paris, also joined the trip. Kaila has been volunteering since childhood and describes how taking part in service opportunities while studying away was a chance to find common ground with people who use different languages and come from diverse backgrounds. Care4Calais changed Kaila’s perspective on refugees. “I had some prior expectations and assumptions about what these people would be like,” Kaila admits. “I was surprised to see so many smiling faces, and how people who had so little were willing to give and share with me. Despite everything they were dealing with, they still made room for fun, laughter, and happiness. Seeing that firsthand hit my heart in ways I will never forget.”

The Importance of Education Outside the Classroom

A Care4Calais volunteer unloads a donation box

Ahmed Nasri, communications and student engagement coordinator at NYU Paris and one of the trip’s organizers, emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of cultural immersion opportunities while studying away. “The trip offered a transformational shift in perspective that enriched students’ academic journeys, since their theoretical knowledge was grounded in a real world context.” He explains further: “There is a significant difference between learning about a subject theoretically and experiencing it firsthand. This trip to Calais aimed to bridge that gap. While we can absorb information about the refugee crisis and immigration challenge from books and lectures, witnessing it in person amplifies students’ understanding.”

Written by Auzelle Epeneter

Study Away Prepares Students as Global Professionals and Global Citizens

Posted on December 4, 2023, modified on December 14, 2023 by Katie L

Rawan Al-Wakeal

We recently caught up with Rawan Al-Wakeal, manager of global career development at the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development and Office of Global Programs (OGP). Below, she describes why study away is important for students to become global citizens as well as competitive applicants beyond their time at NYU.

Tell us about your role at Wasserman and OGP.

As manager of global career development, I coach students to develop their career narrative with a global lens and cultivate relationships with global employers and alumni abroad. I travel to various NYU locations each semester to introduce career development opportunities to our students around the world. And I am also in charge of reading global internship applications. I do all of this through an identity, diversity, belonging, equity, and accessibility (IDBEA) lens, with a particular focus on coaching study-away students to support them in their professional development.

How does studying away help NYU students in their careers?

Global experiences help students gain violet ready skills. The 10 skills in this set—including collaboration, professionalism, and intercultural fluency—are ones we’ve identified as being particularly in demand by employers. At the Wasserman Center, we work with students to ensure they can develop and enhance their skills, even while studying away.

Having a global mindset and international experience can set them apart in the job search, since many organizations are global. The global nature of NYU influences our alumni’s ability to adapt to a variety of environments, connect with people from different backgrounds, and excel in new places. Especially in uncertain times, those skills are vital to standing out among the crowd.

You’ve had a lot of international experience yourself. After going to college in Canada, you traveled in the Middle East and Africa. How have those experiences helped you in your career?

My international experience exposed me to various experiences and skills, such as intercultural and global fluency, communication, self-awareness, and reflection, that have supported my career development. Through my travel experiences and interaction with locals, I learned the importance of cultural diversity and sensitivity as well as gained an understanding of social cues and etiquette.

Additionally, I learned to actively listen, express myself clearly, and build relationships with colleagues from around the globe. I also learned to communicate and understand different languages and dialects such as colloquial Egyptian Arabic and North Levantine Arabic, which added to my understanding of Gulf Arabic.

Moreover, growing up as a global citizen and third-culture kid, I’ve witnessed how global issues and being from underprivileged backgrounds affect not only one’s livelihood but also one’s career development. I strive to advocate for these issues in my career and recommend that study away students interact with different cultures and make a positive, global impact through their careers. I encourage my students to try and understand the world around them while they are abroad and take part in every social, artistic, cultural, and diverse experience they can. These experiences will live with them for the rest of their lives. My own experiences live with me and made me who I am as a person and professional.

Written by Kristin Maffei

Student Reporting in Buenos Aires

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Katie L

Maureen Zeufack

When Maureen Zeufack, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development Class of 2023, researched options for studying away, she wanted to explore somewhere new and was immediately drawn to NYU Buenos Aires. A Media, Culture, and Communication major, Maureen found the opportunity to immerse herself in Argentina’s unfamiliar yet vibrant and multicultural lifestyle too good to pass up. “I wanted to go somewhere I didn’t have a connection to, somewhere completely out of my wheelhouse,” Maureen explains. “Academically, I wanted to improve my Spanish. Plus, the media classes aligned with my major, so it really was the perfect fit.”

The daughter of Cameroonian immigrants, Maureen has family in Africa and Europe, and she lived in Asia as a child. What she didn’t expect while studying in Buenos Aires? Finding a slice of home in a place she’d never been.

Maureen was intentional about her class selection, especially when it came to choosing Santiago O’Donnell’s course Reporting Buenos Aires. “I took the class because I knew the semester would go by quickly, and I wanted to have an excuse to explore the city, get more familiar with the culture and the people, and dive into everything,” says Maureen. O’Donnell, a former staff writer at both the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, assigns students stories that require them to engage with the surrounding city. This way they learn more about the city’s culture by putting themselves in new situations, observing their Argentine neighbors, and meeting people they may not otherwise encounter. “Since I’m Cameroonian American, I was interested in seeing what the African diaspora is like in Buenos Aires and, if there are Africans in the city, what’s going on in their communities,” says Maureen.

Maureen poses for the camera in El Buen Sabor Africano restaurant

Maureen inside El Buen Sabor Africano restaurant

For one of the class assignments, Maureen was tasked with writing a restaurant review. She was surprised to find there was only one African restaurant in all of Buenos Aires. Even more surprising? The owner and head chef, Maxime Tankouo, is also from Cameroon. And not only that—he and Maureen are from the same tribe.

“I thought, ‘What are the odds that in this country, where there aren’t many Black people or Africans in general, that not only is he Cameroonian, but he is also from the exact same tribe and the same part of the country as me?’” Maureen says with a laugh. “That was something we really bonded over.”

While sitting inside the walls of Tankouo’s restaurant, El Buen Sabor Africano, Maureen says she “immediately felt at home.” Although she was far from her familial home, there were pieces of it right there in Buenos Aires, from the music Tankouo played to the decor that filled his restaurant’s walls. She enjoyed a full meal—grilled corvina fish bathed in orange and red African spices, perfectly cooked sweet plantains, and a dish of spicy sautéed red beans and vegetables—all under the gaze of a large, painted lion, Cameroon’s national symbol, on the restaurant’s wall.

A plated meal of fish, plantains, onion, sauteed beans and vegetables

A filling meal of African flavors at El Buen Sabor Africano

Maureen gained more than just a good story for her class. “I know now that I’m especially interested in exploring the African diaspora experience in Argentina,” she says, which is what she focused her final class project on. She adds, “I realized the world is a lot smaller than you think. For something like this to happen while I was there, in a place where sometimes you don’t see a lot of people who look like you, it was necessary and refreshing. It was nice to see a familiar face and know that someone there had a similar background as me.”

Written by Kelly Stewart

NYU Madrid: A Day in the Life

Posted on October 23, 2023, modified on April 8, 2024 by Katie L

Gabby, a Global Liberal Studies major concentrating in art, text, and media, learns about Spanish culture. Her day starts at her favorite coffee shop, then the Prado Museum, Retiro Park, and her internship at el Chico, an art gallery, and it ends at the NYU Madrid academic center where she attends her evening class on Spanish cinema.

Focused on the Future of NYU London: A Conversation with Executive Director Mojtaba Moatamedi

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Katie L

Dr.Mojtaba Moatamedi

Dr. Mojtaba Moatamedi, NYU London’s new executive director, joined the staff in January 2023 and has big plans for the global location’s future. Formerly the president of Al Ghurair University in the United Arab Emirates, Moatamedi says it was the possibility surrounding NYU London and what lies ahead for the site, especially its new, state-of-the-art academic center slated to open in fall 2024, that drew him to the job.

Moatamedi brings a wealth of experience in senior leadership, research, and teaching to NYU London, and, prior to his role as Al Ghurair University’s president, he served as the university’s dean of the College of Engineering and Computing. He has also held leadership roles at Imperial College London, Cranfield University, the Arctic University of Norway, University of Salford, and the University of Sheffield.

Moatamedi’s education includes a PhD in Engineering from the University of Sheffield, an MBA from the University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School, and an LLM in International Business Law from the University of Leeds. His research and teaching focuses on multiphysics, modeling and simulations, and engineering design.

Global Dimensions recently caught up with Dr. Moatamedi. Here’s what he had to share:

Global Dimensions: What drew you to NYU London?

Dr. Moatamedi: The main excitement for me was the future of NYU London. A lot can happen with the new academic center building, opening next year. The University is very invested in NYU London, and I was drawn to the opportunity to really build something and make a difference—that is the biggest reason I came here.

Global Dimensions: You mentioned the new academic center on the horizon. How will this new space impact NYU London students?

Dr. Moatamedi: First, the last 25 years of NYU London has helped us shape what our students need both space- and technology-wise. So we kept the shell of the new building but removed everything else, designing it exactly for our students. Our current space is somewhat limited. For the most part, students come to class and then they leave. They don’t really have a place for “student life” just yet. But with the new building, the whole design—an outdoor space, student lounges, a place to pick up food and beverages—will be really exciting.

Second, the building is in one of the best locations in London. In terms of universities, we’re next to the London School of Economics and King’s College London. Being adjacent to other universities will enhance the student experience immensely. We’re also 10 to 15 minutes away from Downing Street and the Parliament of England. And it’s on one of the oldest streets in London in a central area for music and arts. So building this new academic center and becoming a neighbor of these universities will help us enhance the profile of NYU London in the United Kingdom.

Overall, the student experience is going to be amazing. Our students will really get to experience being a student in the UK while also getting a great education.

Global Dimensions: The building is anticipated to open fall 2024. Where are you in that process?

Dr. Moatamedi: We’ve already started. If you look at the building, the scaffolding is up and they’re hard at work.

It’s really exciting and, for me, personally, this building represents a long-term commitment. The future of NYU London is bright and it’s going to be different from any other academic site.

Global Dimensions: When it’s all said and done, what do you hope your students take away from their time at NYU London?

Dr. Moatamedi: Our students are getting to work with some of the best academics in the country (we have more than 100 faculty) who’ve worked at some of the top universities in the UK. And they all work hard to bring bits and pieces of UK history into our courses. When students are in class, we don’t want it to be a generic classroom experience—we want them to really learn about the UK.

Written by Kelly Stewart

The School Year Begins at NYU Sydney

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Katie L

NYU Sydney welcomed its fall semester students at the end of July for orientation. Packed with exciting and informative events on and beyond the beautiful University of Sydney campus, the week helped students get acquainted with their new home and each other. With a scavenger hunt and visits to Parliament House and the Sydney Tower Eye, students were immersed in this spectacular city as well as introduced to Indigenous Australian culture. Check out some of highlights of this exciting week in these incredible photos.

Students fuel up on a healthy breakfast before their first day of NYU Sydney’s orientation begins.

NYU students join the entire intake of international students in the Great Hall for their official welcome.

NYU Sydney student Alyssa Minor gets up close and personal with some of Australia’s unique wildlife during a trip to a research and conservation park.

NYU Sydney students gather for orientation events at the University of Sydney’s main quadrangle.

Students arrive for their guided architectural tour of the stunning Sydney Opera House.

The NYU Sydney cohort continues through the world-famous opera house stopping to appreciate the harbor views.

Dr. Andy West (center) hosts NYU Sydney’s Global Orientations session on Australian politics.

Assistant Director of Academic Coordination and Planning Yuri Ogura (right) chats with students while they head to the Chau Chak Wing Museum, where they will take a guided tour of the Indigenous collections.

NYU Tel Aviv Welcomes a Simulation That Prepares Students for the Next Global Public Health Emergency

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Katie L

In a humanitarian crisis, the World Health Organization’s Strategic Health Operations Centre (SHOC) in Geneva, Switzerland, leads the response and offers coordination, information, monitoring, and other critical services and resources to the international community. At NYU Tel Aviv, Dr. Inon Schenker provides a unique opportunity for students to gain experiential understanding of SHOC through the War on Epidemics simulation. First launched by Dr. Schenker at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the simulation has been a training ground for hundreds of students at Israeli universities. Now at NYU Tel Aviv, the War on Epidemics is part of the course Epidemiology for Global Health, though Schenker welcomes any students eager to participate.

Realistic Scenarios Bridge Theory and Practice

In a room modeled on the SHOC’s setup, students work together to develop real-time responses to an unfolding crisis. This year’s simulation was based on the 2004 tsunami that devastated over a dozen countries in Southeast Asia. Students were briefed with real footage, then charged to consider emerging issues like sanitation, care for the injured, information communications, and the potential for the displaced populations to experience health risks such as infectious diseases, mental health conditions, and trauma. As the simulation progressed, the team was notified that a group of 1,000 young people were trapped on a mountain without shelter or food. Throughout the simulation these scenarios were on the clock, giving students a sense of real-life urgency.

During the simulation, Ansley Fiorito, a Biology and Global Public Health major, was the UNICEF adviser on youth in emergency situations. She describes learning how operation centers support teams on the ground through their ability to take a different perspective on the situation. “Both roles are valuable, but when you’re in the midst of chaos, it can be challenging to make decisions that benefit everyone in the long run.” Sejal Porter, a Biology and Global Public Health major on the prehealth track, echoes the importance of a variety of experts. “As an epidemiological adviser, my role was to prevent a future threat of disease instead of focusing on the current, pressing impacts of the crisis.” Ansley adds, “It was incredible to see everyone work together toward a common goal.”

Dr. Edan Raviv, assistant director of academics at NYU Tel Aviv, notes that experiential learning is an important bridge between intellectual and practical knowledge. “This is especially critical in a field like public health,” he says, “which requires students to understand complex technical science on the one hand and the public, socioeconomic, and political causes and implications of public health on the other.”

When Learning Leads to Impact

Simulations like these can even transform future, real-time outcomes. Dr. Schenker offers one illustrative example: In 2015 a cyclone was approaching Chennai, India, the hometown of one of his former Ben-Gurion University of the Negev students, Sri Janani. Having participated in the War on Epidemics simulation just a few months earlier, Janani knew how to organize an operations center and bring together members of her community and local nongovernmental organizations. Through the spread of information, organization of supplies, and evacuation of those in vulnerable areas, Janani estimates they helped over 170 families.

Dr. Schenker anticipates the next War on Epidemics simulation at NYU Tel Aviv will run in the spring of 2024. “Every NYU student can benefit from participating in a simulation like this. It is highly educational but also a fun way to build real-life experience and skills,” he says.

Dr. Schenker is happy to work with NYU campuses and academic locations on adapting the simulation to their local contexts. His contact email is is2760@nyu.edu.

Written by Auzelle Epeneter

A Confession That Changes History: NYU Florence’s Marcello Simonetta Discovers New Twist in Pazzi Conspiracy

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Katie L

A newly found signed confession alters what historians thought they knew about one of history’s greatest conspiracies

Marcello Simonetta, right, narrates a reenactment of the Pazzi Conspiracy at Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio on April 26, 2023, the 500-year anniversary of the event.

Had Antonio Maffei da Volterra successfully assassinated Lorenzo de’ Medici, the course of Italian history would have been altered immensely. The roots of the infamous Pazzi conspiracy to oust the Medici family as rulers of Florence ran deep—everyone from the pope to the king of Naples had a part in it. The failed conspiracy took place over 500 years ago this spring, and today, few people know more about it than NYU Florence instructor Marcello Simonetta. So when he uncovered a confession letter from Antonio Maffei earlier this year, unearthing details never known before of the attempted assassination, Simonetta was astounded.

“I’ve been around these materials for a long time. I know the story quite well. I even wrote a book about it,” says Simonetta. “This confession wasn’t supposed to exist, but it does, and it’s amazing.” Simonetta laughs when he says this, but then notes that distrust is the most important part of being a successful historian. He explains that you have to believe there is more to every story—that the historians who came before you didn’t finish the job and left something more to discover—even when you don’t know what that something is. And in this case, it is a confession letter written and signed by Antonio Maffei shortly before his death.

“It’s the last thing he wrote, because soon after writing the confession, he died,” says Simonetta, who found the confession at the Archivio di Stato di Firenze in a file of poems, wills, and other completely unrelated documents. “Archives are the treasures of our past. If you look close enough, you’ll find things that are unbelievable but true.”

In the confession Maffei shares a timeline for the planned assassination of the Medici brothers (Lorenzo, who was injured, and Guiliano, who did not survive). Unaware of his specific role in the assassination until the day before it happened, he wrote that he arrived in Florence months before April 26, 1478—the day the plot was to be enacted. This information contradicts what writer and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli wrote in Florentine Histories, which is considered one of the most accurate accounts of the conspiracy. But just the existence of the confession—that Maffei even had time to write it—debunks the idea that he was beaten and hanged immediately after the attack.

“There are a lot of details about the preparation of the conspiracy, which we didn’t know before,” explains Simonetta. “But the bottom line is we had no idea that Antonio arrived seven months ahead of time. These are all incredible details that make it very real and very human. The failure of the conspiracy is astounding, but also the conspiracy itself, as Machiavelli points out among other things, is extraordinary.”

Simonetta is an expert on Machiavelli and teaches a class about him at NYU Florence. As a matter of fact, Simonetta made the discovery at the same time the class was reading Machiavelli’s On Conspiracies, specifically the section about the Pazzi conspiracy.

Handwritten Italian text on a piece of paper

Antonio Maffei’s confession of the attempted assassination

“The students had read the materials, but they didn’t know there was this new element that had just surfaced from the dust of the past, so I used it in the class,” Simonetta notes. “When I can, I love to use firsthand documents because it makes history so much more alive. And that’s what history is all about. It’s about imagination; without imagination it’s just data. It’s raw data, so who cares? But when history becomes living history, which is a pun—lethal history more than living in this case—it comes alive.”

Simonetta says that having the opportunity to bring history to life for his students has been one of his favorite parts about teaching at NYU Florence. Teaching in the city where these events took place, he adds, brings a dynamic to the classroom experience that is unobtainable anywhere else in the world.

“I’ve taught classes about Machiavelli in the United States, but it’s not the same as going to the Basilica di Santa Croce and seeing his tomb. Or going to the villa where he wrote The Prince,” Simonetta concludes. “It becomes so real: you can touch it, you can feel it exactly as it is. So being here, in Florence, is an enormous plus for my students and for me.”

Written by Kelly McHugh-Stewart

For the Love of Art: An NYU Abu Dhabi Student’s Passion for Painting

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Katie L

Roudah Hamad Al Mazrouei

Roudhah Hamad Al Mazrouei, NYU Abu Dhabi Class of 2024, recently won a Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance award and is excited to continue her artistic journey. She paints with a purpose: to find her own signature style. “I’ll keep painting until I find it,” she affirms.

Still, Roudhah has noted the fruits of her hard work (beyond the honor of an award), citing the improvements in her techniques, color mixing, and overall knowledge of color theory. She likes to keep her mind and hands busy, explaining that “it’s like the saying, ‘When a shark stops swimming—it dies.’”

This notion of continuing and moving forward is also evident in her approach to making art—when she’s almost finished a painting, she’s already thinking of her next piece.

Roudhah has always found it fascinating that a single brush stroke can eventually create a beautiful painting. “I also feel like I can express myself more when I create something,” she adds.

The award has only motivated Roudhah to continue striving for excellence and, of course, to continue painting. “I am excited to continue exploring new opportunities and projects, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for my professional and personal growth.”

Also helpful for Roudhah’s motivation and inspiration? NYU Abu Dhabi visiting assistant professor Shaika Rashid Al Mazrou who is one of her favorite Emirati artists. “I love the way she conveys her ideas in these very simplistic abstract sculptures… You would never imagine what tension looks like until after you look at her artwork.”

Repurposed with permission from NYU Abu Dhabi Latest News.

NYU Shanghai Unveils New Bund Campus

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Katie L

“The NYU Shanghai New Bund campus has finally gone from blueprint to reality,” says NYU Shanghai chancellor Tong Shijun. After three years of anticipation, the uniquely designed campus opened to students, faculty, and staff in February, just in time for NYU president Andrew Hamilton to visit in celebration of NYU Shanghai’s 10th anniversary.

Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

The campus of four interlinked buildings surrounding a beautiful courtyard was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and the Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research. The New Bund campus includes a recital hall, a black box theatre, two indoor gymnasiums, and a two-story reading room adjacent to the library. Additionally, it has 78 classrooms; a 600-seat auditorium; an art gallery to house the NYU Shanghai Institute of Contemporary Arts; and Magnolia House, a multifunctional winter garden. Although it serves as a retreat from cold weather, Magnolia House’s large glass facades offer students plenty of sunshine while exchanging ideas, studying, or socializing.

: Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

: Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

“The design for the campus brilliantly expresses our University’s cosmopolitan spirit, integrating multiple architectural and cultural traditions together with values of environmental sustainability, celebrating everything from the beauty of a 100-year-old tree to the newest thinking about neural networks,” says Vice Chancellor Jeffrey S. Lehman.

In addition to exploring the new campus, students are encouraged to explore their new neighborhood, the New Bund, and its community. Students visited the China Art Museum and traveled to Sanlin Old Town to celebrate the Yuyuan Lantern Festival as well as experience traditional customs with local residents. Future events like porcelain carving, embroidery sessions, and tours of the Shanghai History Museum and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center are planned for students to further engage with the local culture and build meaningful connections.

Another meaningful connection on the new campus? The suspended bridge over the west building’s main gateway serves as a physical representation of NYU Shanghai’s mission to build bridges between nations and individuals. “The new campus combines features from the East and the West. It connects the present with the future. With such a great campus, I am confident we will make a lasting and vital contribution to Pudong, to Shanghai, to China, and to the world,” says Shijun.