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NYU Students Selected as 2024–2025 Schwarzman Scholars

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Katie L

Five NYU students from all three degree-granting campuses were selected as 2024–2025 Schwarzman Scholars. The honor supports master’s degree study in global affairs at Schwarzman College within Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Bincheng Mao, a Liberal Studies senior at NYU; Valentin Josan, Sachintha Pilapitiya, and Addie Mae Villas, seniors at NYU Abu Dhabi; and Li Peirong, a senior at NYU Shanghai, were among the 150 scholars selected for the class that represents 43 countries and 114 universities around the world.

Bincheng will attend Harvard Law School after his time as a Schwarzman Scholar. He founded the East Coast Coalition for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, a charity inducted into the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community, which focuses on combating anti-Asian discrimination. He also interned at the United Nations Development Programme.

Valentin, the chief of staff of NYU Abu Dhabi’s student government, interned at the Brunswick Group and cofounded both the first set of licensed TEDx education conferences and Model United Nations conferences in Moldova, his home country.

Sachintha helped found Default LK, an organization creating civic economic awareness in his home country Sri Lanka. Sachintha also conducted research at the Institute of Policy Studies in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Addie Mae served as the president of the Debate Union at NYU Abu Dhabi and cofounded the first-ever UAE Conference on Debate and Public Speaking for Women and Girls. While volunteering with Safe Passage 4 Ukraine, she has helped resettle over 800 Ukrainian refugees fleeing war.

Li served as both NYU Shanghai’s student body vice president and president. Throughout his college career, he worked with TEDxNYU Shanghai, the NYU Shanghai Office of Admissions, and the NYU Shanghai Center for Career Development to bolster communication and connection between university community members.

Congratulations to the scholars!

Repurposed with permission from NYU News

Toward Health Equity Across the Globe: NYU Shanghai’s Brian Hall Named Highly Cited Researcher in the Field of Psychiatry and Psychology

Posted on April 22, 2024, modified on April 22, 2024 by Maxine P

Professor Brian Hall has always kept a busy schedule. The global health researcher and clinical psychologist began his career providing triage services at a free medical clinic in Ohio, then he took his work to a post-tsunami Japan in 2011. With a dedication to supporting underserved and disadvantaged populations, he’s worked with refugees in Jijiga, Ethiopia, and migrant domestic workers in Macao, China. Today, he’s the director of NYU Shanghai’s Center for Global Health Equity and a professor of global public health. He’s also coauthored more than 320 peer-reviewed publications, commentaries, and chapters on the most pressing global health issues of our time, leading to his distinctions as a 2022 and 2023 Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Psychiatry and Psychology by Clarivate’s Web of Science. “It really highlights that our work is timely, focused on key issues of global priority that demonstrate a real impact on the field,” he says. “It is an honor.”

Hall joined NYU Shanghai in 2020 to lead the development of the global public health curriculum and ultimately the Center for Global Health Equity, at a time when public health reentered the spotlight. Since then, he’s also developed and taught a student-driven NYU seminar course on global mental health, which, to the best of his knowledge, is the first of its kind in Asia. Today, he oversees the center in three core areas: education, training, and mentoring; service to the community; and research. “Global health is a convening discipline, bringing diverse scholars and students together to address issues related to population health and well-being. Our goal is to continue to cultivate this interdisciplinary research atmosphere and include learners at all levels,” Hall explains. “This is a field in which we can make a real difference in the lives of diverse populations in China, regionally, and around the world.”

A group of individuals stand in front of a decorative poster.

Hall and colleagues celebrate the successful trial of Step-by-Step, a digital mental health intervention, on Chinese university students.

At the center, Hall says, “We focus our efforts on finding opportunities to make the greatest public health impact.” Currently, that includes noncommunicable diseases, like cancer and mental health, urban health, climate change, and migration. Now Hall is focusing on digital mental health interventions. Working with the World Health Organization, he recently published an implementation trial to address the mental health of Chinese university students—a population of more than 9 million. Going forward, the center is coleading a 1.3 million euro grant to study the barriers of accessing mental health care that migrant populations in five countries experience.

Jin Han, Yang Feng, and Brian Hall seated in chairs in discussion

Jin Han, Yang Feng, and Hall in discussion at the inaugural Summit in Global Public Health held by NYU’s New York City and Shanghai campuses

Because the center is based at NYU Shanghai, Hall and his colleagues have access to a wealth of resources. “Shanghai is a living laboratory, and NYU Shanghai is a vibrant interdisciplinary research university,” he affirms. “So we can find world-leading researchers and promising pretenure faculty and fellows with whom we can discuss opportunities for collaboration across fields. I think this makes NYU Shanghai unique, as we think outside of our own narrow fields to find intersections where innovation can take place.”

Written by Dana Guterman

NYU Students Can Study at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Posted on March 11, 2024, modified on March 12, 2024 by Maxine P

KAIST’s Lyu Keun-Chul Sports Complex

NYU science and technology students who want to study abroad but stay on track with their majors will have another option starting this year: the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. KAIST is “an innovative and dynamic institution, and it is among the top science and technology universities in the world,” says Nyoka Joseph, the assistant director of student services for the NYU International Exchange Program. “NYU students will join 3,600 KAIST undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students who live and learn on a 350-acre campus in Daejeon, a city of 1.5 million people in central South Korea.”

The exchange program is part of a partnership between NYU and KAIST that was launched in 2022 to combine each university’s distinctive strengths and drive advances in research while forging new industrial collaborations and investments. The partnership also lays the groundwork for KAIST’s first campus in the United States, which will be a joint venture with NYU in New York City. Students who are interested in studying abroad at KAIST must first apply to be nominated. Once they are nominated, they will receive access to the KAIST application.

NYU students can choose from a wide variety of preapproved courses at KAIST or seek approval from their academic adviser or dean to take other courses at the institute. The preapproved courses take advantage of KAIST’s strengths in industrial design, technology and culture, artificial intelligence, and Korean language. For students who want to focus on science and technology courses while building their Korean skills, the Korean International House provides one-on-one Korean language tutoring and is one of many resources for NYU students.

Statue of Jang Yeong-sil in front of trees and glass building

Statue of Korean scientist, Jang Yeong-sil, on the KAIST Daejeon campus

“Nearly everything that a student needs can be found, including academic facilities, nearly 30 dorms, athletic facilities, dining, and international student support services,” says Joseph, who recently visited the KAIST campus to tour the facilities and surrounding city. “There are 60 undergraduate clubs and organizations that NYU students can join. When I spoke to international students on campus, they talked about how that helped them feel they were settling into the school socially and that it was a great way to meet people outside of the classroom.”

Repurposed from Global Notebook

Meeting Point

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Kristin Law

Connecting NYU and the public through the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

In 2008—two years before NYU Abu Dhabi welcomed its inaugural class—NYU established a presence in the city to begin building awareness about the type of events and dialogues the local community could expect the institution to host. The NYU Abu Dhabi Institute was a chance to create a relationship with the public, offering a space to address global challenges and contribute to a growing ecosystem of cultural institutions in the area.

Today, the institute is a center of advanced research as well as scholarly and creative activity. Its public programs and academic conferences bring together academics, professionals, and leaders from around the world to discuss research areas and topics of local and global significance. With some 45 public discussions and more than 25 academic conferences over the course of the year, the institute offers NYU a unique chance to give back to the intellectual culture of Abu Dhabi.

“We feature a range of topics that reflect the diversity of this global university, and we offer a space to talk about these complex problems from a variety of different perspectives,” says Senior Director of the Institute Maurice Pomerantz. “It’s a chance for our colleagues in Abu Dhabi to connect with colleagues from around the world and also speak not only to the standard academic audience but to professionals and policymakers from the larger community. A key part of our mission is to show the world the relevance of the modern university.”

Programs typically center on a theme connected to the global challenges of the moment; many of last year’s lectures focused on the environment, and upcoming ones will address artificial intelligence. Presenters often have multidisciplinary backgrounds, with knowledge that bridges fields, as well as experience in both academia and the broader world. Some discussions are in English and some are in Arabic, and the audience often includes NYU students and faculty, professionals, local school members, and families with children. The institute also hosts a series of lectures and events at NYU’s Washington Square campus. Last year alone, the institute led more than 30 events there.

Lectures encompass a variety of subjects and perspectives—one week a Booker Prize winner and an expert on Afghan music traditions may present, then the next week may feature a filmmaker who focuses on refugees’ stories. The institute archives past discussions on its YouTube channel, so anyone in the world can join the conversation. There are also numerous opportunities for students to participate, such as recommending faculty, helping with question and answer sessions at events, and much more.

In addition, the institute hosts peer reviewed academic conferences that can be proposed by faculty anywhere across NYU’s global network. The conferences advance NYU’s culture of research and offer a venue to many annual meetings of scholarly and academic societies from around the world. Regional and international conferences across most academic fields turn to the institute for specialized academic forums that discuss cultural, historical, artistic, and scientific themes.

“The institute is a rare opportunity to directly combine a public mission and a research mission,” Pomerantz says. “It’s a luxury to have a series of live talks and conferences today, especially ones that are relevant locally and meaningful on a global scale. I think this has really become something of a treasure here in Abu Dhabi.”

Written by Sarah Bender

Around the World in 97 Years: A Brief History of NYU’s Global Network

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Kristin Law

Long before study abroad was a rite of passage for curious students, NYU recognized the many merits of an international education. While the University founded its first study away site in 1958, Professor James E. Lough took 350 NYU students on a for-credit sailing trip around the world back in 1926, an experience he dubbed the “Floating University.” Tamson Pietsch, associate professor in social and political sciences and director of the Australian Centre for Public History at the University of Technology Sydney, detailed this little known journey in her recent book, The Floating University: Experience, Empire, and the Politics of Knowledge.

“NYU actually ran the very first study abroad program for academic credit in the United States and the world,” Pietsch asserted in a recent discussion facilitated by NYU’s Dr. Jini Kim Watson, professor of English and comparative literature and faculty liaison at NYU Sydney. During their conversation, Pietsch shared her work with Dana Burde, associate professor of international education at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and Shirin Nadira, assistant director of the NYU Office of Global Awards.

NYU Madrid

Pietsch’s book details the fascinating history of this educational experiment as well as its implications for higher education. “A contest emerged in the 1920s between expertise and experience as the foundation of knowledge claims about the world,” she explains. For eight months, 350 students and another 150 crew members traversed the globe on a ship, taking a variety of courses and disembarking at nearly 50 ports. Much like NYU’s global network today, the advertising materials lauded the voyage as an opportunity for students to “develop the ability to think in world terms through firsthand contact with places, people, and problems.” Indeed, students met recognizable figures such as Gandhi and the Pope. “The basis of the voyage was that you can teach students to be global citizens at sea—you can teach worldly-mindedness,” says Pietsch. However, the press covered students’ antics as much as their learning, and it would be some years before NYU students once more studied abroad.

NYU Paris

More than three decades later, in 1958, NYU established the first academic center in its global network, NYU Madrid. There, students hone their Spanish language skills while immersing themselves in the Spanish capital’s vibrant culture. Then, in 1969, NYU Paris became the second site, founded as a center for immersive French language study. Today, students from a diversity of fields come together to visit world-renowned museums and key historical sites while getting the opportunity to supplement their coursework with classes at French universities. In the years that followed, the NYU community established a dozen additional global sites, including two degree-granting campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.

As our world fractures, reconnects, and evolves, NYU’s global network has continued to grow and change. “In a way, I think that not much has changed,” concludes Pietsch. “The form of encountering engagement with the world does that same work of helping students understand the place of their nation in the international order.”

Written by Dana Guterman

NYU Celebrates International Education Week

Posted on November 27, 2023, modified on November 27, 2023 by Kristin Law

This month NYU joined universities around the United States as hosts of a plethora of events and celebrations during International Education Week (IEW), highlighting the many benefits international education presents students across the globe. “NYU is a leader in this field, so it’s essential that we communicate the importance of international education to both our students and the wider community,” says Jonathan Maynard, assistant director of study away student outreach at the Office of Global Programs (OGP). According to the 2023 Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report, NYU is ranked No. 3 in the nation for the number of US students sent to study around the globe. “These events highlight the work we’ve been doing for a long time,” he shares.

This year OGP kicked off the annual celebration with one of the marquee events, the Study Away Opportunities Fair. Taking place each fall, the fair provides students the opportunity to learn about each of NYU’s 14 additional study away sites. OGP, student global ambassadors, and academic advisers from across the University staff the fair, prepared to answer any student questions.

Jiayi Zhang, a global ambassador and Linguistics and Latin American and Caribbean Studies double major at the College of Arts and Science (CAS), studied away at NYU Buenos Aires. She was at the site’s booth during the fair, fielding questions from her fellow students.

“I get to talk all about my personal experience in Buenos Aires, which was amazing,” Jiayi says from behind a table donned with an Argentine flag, stickers, pictures, and information about the global site. “Just now, a student asked me about housing. I told her I lived in a homestay, and she didn’t know that was an option. Now she’s really interested in that.”

For students who haven’t studied away, the fair offers a comfortable but engaging environment for them to learn about the global sites while talking to others who have had the experience.

“Since I’m studying politics and public health, NYU Washington, DC, is my first choice,” says Andres Piccinoni, a junior at CAS. “Although I did preliminary research, I really wanted to talk to someone about what it’s like in Washington, DC, and how to get internships there.”

Andres says he also stopped by the NYU Madrid, NYU Florence, and NYU Shanghai booths to learn more about what they have to offer. “Studying away is a great opportunity to get in touch with other cultures,” he adds. “The fair gave me an inkling of what it’s like to connect with a culture I’m not very familiar with and how that could help me gain new perspectives.”

In addition to the fair, OGP hosts the Global Engagement Symposium, a nexus of undergraduate student presenters sharing their accomplishments from studying away. Students presented their global-focused research and experiences at the symposium, which ran simultaneously with the fair. Topics ranged from ancient Indian literature and global climate research to unique volunteer opportunities at NYU sites.

“When students go abroad, we want their experience to go beyond the classroom,” says Maynard. “We want them to find deeper experiences as they explore these cultures. Through research, internships, and volunteering, they meet new people and see a side of a city they normally wouldn’t get to see. The symposium is an amazing way for them to present these experiences. The work they’re doing is really impressive.”

Throughout IEW, the University hosted daily events focused on global learning. Students took part in trivia and comedy nights and engaged in lectures and workshops. The week also included a keynote address from Dr. Rajika Bhandari, an international higher education expert and a scholar–practitioner with over 25 years of experience in researching student mobility and delivering data-driven insights; monitoring, evaluating, and studying the impact of international education programs; and shaping thought leadership strategy in the nonprofit, private, and higher education sectors. Dr. Bhandari is also author of her award-winning memoir, America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility.

“International Education Week at NYU is unique because we’re not just talking about the students who come to the United States from overseas, we’re also talking about the experience our students have in other cultures when they study away,” says Chris Nicolussi, assistant vice president of global network student services and planning at OGP. “There are so many great presentations, talks, and student-led forums. It’s a uniquely NYU perspective on global education.”

Written by Kelly Stewart

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

10 Years in Two Dynamic Cities

Posted on April 25, 2023, modified on April 25, 2023 by Maxine P

During this academic year, two NYU global locations arrived at an important milestone: 10 years as part of the NYU global community. NYU Shanghai and NYU Washington, DC, celebrate their accomplishments of the last decade.

NYU Shanghai

Last month, NYU Shanghai, one of NYU’s three degree-granting campuses, celebrated its 10th anniversary, beginning with a ceremony held on the school’s newly opened New Bund campus. Guests included founding partners from NYU’s New York City campus and East China Normal University as well as local government officials. NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton took the opportunity to reflect on the important role academic research plays in cultural democracy:

NYU Shanghai has blossomed into a thriving, remarkable university whose international faculty and student body epitomize NYU’s innovation and ambition. It is not only an important part of NYU, but the research and learnings that faculty and students take part in contribute enormously to cultural understanding across the globe. (NYU Shanghai News and Publications)

(pictured from left to right) Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai Jeffrey Lehman, NYU President Andy Hamilton, NYU Shanghai Chancellor Tong Shijun

The ceremony was the first in a series of events celebrating the momentous anniversary. For example, Visiting Professor of Music and Composition and Distinguished Artist in Residence Bright Sheng conducted the concert, The Friendship of Two Cities: Shanghai–New York, featuring pianist Ming Xie and violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Two pieces were carefully curated for the program, “Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto” and “Rhapsody in Blue,” to represent Shanghai and New York City. The weekend also marked NYU Shanghai’s first-ever alumni reunion, and over 200 alumni attended celebratory and networking events including an alumni panel discussion and the Dean’s Open House and Faculty Salon.

NYU Shanghai’s student body president Stephanie Anderson ’23 and vice president Peirong Li ’24 gave inspiring remarks at the opening ceremony, encouraging students to bring positive change to the world: “Let us in true NYU Shanghai fashion, rise to meet the challenges of our new, post-pandemic world and contribute to empower our community.”

NYU Washington, DC

Andy Hamilton talking to smiling people in suits

President Hamilton speaks with alumni at the NYU Washington, DC, 10-year reception.

Celebrations for the 10th anniversary of NYU Washington, DC, one of the University’s global academic centers, began last fall with a reception for over 200 DC-based alumni. President Hamilton provided the keynote address and current students studying at NYU Washington, DC, joined the celebratory reception. The site also launched an inaugural film series with the theme Empire. Each month, a film related to the theme is screened at the Abramson Family Auditorium, followed by a discussion with a faculty moderator. The theme and related films provide an opportunity for students to reflect on the complexities inherent in history as well as international relations and politics today, taking advantage of the site’s location on the doorstep of international diplomacy.

Kari Miller speaking at a podium that says "NYUDC at 10"

NYU Washington, DC, Program Director Kari Miller speaks at the 10-year reception.

Director Kari Miller attributes the site’s success to several factors, including the Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center’s incredible facility and its central location downtown. Offering students the chance to take courses near the White House and the National Mall, the center’s proximity to a multitude of government agencies and organizations provides ample opportunities for students to gain practical experience through internships.

And what does Miller hope the next 10 years bring to NYU Washington, DC? “We hope to elevate the visibility of NYU Washington, DC, among our faculty and students at all degree-granting campuses, so that the site provides access to all of the teaching, learning, meeting, and research opportunities available in Washington, DC.”

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.

NYU and KAIST Celebrate New Partnership

Posted on November 3, 2022, modified on November 3, 2022 by Maxine P

A visit by South Korea’s president and the New York City mayor to NYU marks an important global academic partnership

KAIST President Lee Kwang Hyung with NYU President Andrew Hamilton

KAIST President Lee Kwang Hyung and NYU President Andrew Hamilton celebrate the NYU-KAIST partnership. ©Chandler: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

New York University and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) recently celebrated their new partnership at an event that included South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, New York City mayor Eric Adams, NYU board of trustees chair William R. Berkley, NYU president Andrew Hamilton, and KAIST president Lee Kwang Hyung. The event included the City of New York and the KAIST delegation signing a cooperation agreement as well as unveiling signage for the anticipated joint New York City campus.

Collaboration Through Research

The partnership will focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, humanities, and mathematics, commencing with a series of research collaborations involving some 50 faculty members from the two institutions in areas such as biomedical engineering, AI convergence, neuroscience, next-generation wireless communications, cybersecurity, and sustainability, among other areas. In addition, discussions have begun between faculty of the two institutions regarding the possibility of establishing a joint undergraduate engineering degree program, as well as a study away program that would include intensive practical learning and industry experience in both countries.

Joint Programs and Student Exchange

The two universities have already identified dedicated space on each campus for their nascent joint collaborations. In New York City, the NYU-KAIST offices will be located at One MetroTech Center, at the heart of NYU’s Downtown Brooklyn campus specializing in engineering, tech, new media, and arts. KAIST will provide space for NYU personnel on their campus. With the goal of establishing a campus in New York City by 2025, KAIST has also been in discussion with New York City officials about its plans.

A Beneficial Partnership

“We’re proud to have helped facilitate this partnership between KAIST and New York University, which will be a real win for students and help drive continued innovation in our city,” said New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams. “From the time that senior members of our administration learned about this opportunity during a recent trip to South Korea, we have worked closely with KAIST to develop strategies for increasing their presence and investments in New York City. This is the start of a relationship that I am confident will bring even more academic, business, and technological opportunities to the five boroughs.”

“We’re delighted by our newly established partnership with KAIST,” said NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton. “We see great potential in the opportunities to collaborate on the development of courses, research, cutting-edge technologies, entrepreneurship initiatives and industrial partnerships, and exchanges. We believe this partnership is very much in line with NYU’s commitment to global engagement and will make important contributions to New York’s tech sector. It’s exciting to think how much NYU and KAIST have to learn from one another, and how much we may accomplish together.”

“We are very excited to have our institution come together with NYU to begin pursuing a common vision: joining forces to advance technology-based research and education; playing a leading role in addressing global challenges and problems through science and technology; and building stronger ties between Korea and the United States,” said KAIST’s President Kwang Hyung Lee. “This partnership with an institution that shares our sense of cutting-edge research and global social responsibility recalls the spirit of international partnership and assistance that led to the creation of KAIST in 1971.”

Content repurposed with permission from NYU News.

Global Dimensions