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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

Akkasah: Illuminating History Through Photography

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Maxine P

This summer, Akkasah, the photography archive at NYU Abu Dhabi’s al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art, released 1,500 digitized photographs from across the Middle East, with some photographs dating back to the 19th century. Located within the NYU Abu Dhabi Library, this remarkable collection houses a treasure trove of images that chronicle the history, culture, and transformation of the Middle East and beyond.

An example from the archive: Taken in 1949 by Ibrahim Omara, this image of Egyptian actresses Aziza Helmy and Laily Fawzy in the back of a car is available in the Samir Farid Collection.
Reference ID: ref34_000002

Origins of the Archive

This fascinating collection of the photographic heritage of the Middle East was established in 2014 by Professor Shamoon Zamir, who still serves as its director. “When I joined NYU Abu Dhabi, I very much wanted to make some kind of contribution to work in the region,” says Professor Zamir. After noticing a lack of Middle Eastern photography archives, he designed Akkasah to be completely accessible, both online and in person.

Akkasah acquires photos from donations, family albums, studios, and even flea markets. They also work with people who allow Akkasah to digitally archive their collections while they retain the physical copies of their photographs.

Once collected, each photo is individually cataloged with any available metadata, such as the subject matter and location. Although most archives catalog their collections folder by folder, Akkasah catalogs each photograph. It’s a time-consuming process, but the extensive metadata and easy searchability put Akkasah in a class of its own.

Scholarly Impact

With its diverse collection of roughly 40,000 images spanning the late 1800s to the present, Akkasah provides a unique window into the past. Anthropologists, historians, and social scientists from around the world have access to this invaluable resource, offering insights into education, religion, fashion, and more.

“There are both amazing surprises and expected things in there,” says Professor Zamir. Some subjects provoke questions, for instance, two women kissing in a Cairo photobooth in the 1940s.

Beyond its role as a scholarly resource, Akkasah opens its doors to students and the wider community by hosting exhibitions, seminars, and lectures. They have taught workshops on skills such as archiving and constructing photo books. And anyone can browse the archive in person or online.

“Anyone, academic or nonacademic, can make an appointment and see whatever they want to see,” says Professor Zamir. “In fact, we very much welcome it.”

Professional Development Opportunities

For students who want to learn even more about archiving, Akkasah offers paid internships. Undergraduates can gain valuable experience in photography, digitization, and curation.

A studio portrait of a seated woman wearing a dark dress

An example from the archive: This studio portrait of a seated woman comes from the Kadikoy Foto Aile in Turkey and is available in the Ozge Calafato Collection.
Reference ID: ref263

Emily Broad, a Raleigh, North Carolina, native who graduated from NYU Abu Dhabi in 2022 with a degree in Art and Art History, is one former intern. “Akkasah is one of the reasons why I applied to NYU Abu Dhabi,” says Emily. “I was able to develop my interest in photography not only as a practice but also as an academic discipline.”

As part of a summer research project, she cataloged a collection from the granddaughter of Butti Bin Bishr who worked closely with Sheikh Zayed, the United Arab Emirates’ founder. “I spent the whole summer talking with her and going through each image, dating them and writing descriptions. That was a unique experience because I got to work with someone who was high-level in the UAE as well as form a relationship with her through the archival work.”

Building on the skills she learned, Emily went on to do an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is now pursuing her PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester.

A Cultural Reservoir

Perhaps one of the archive’s most important roles is the preservation of cultural heritage. It documents traditions, customs, and art forms, helping safeguard the rich cultural tapestry of the Middle East. Anyone can stop in to reconstruct narratives, explore societal changes, and gain insights into the past.

Emily encourages students to take advantage of the unique resource. “Akkasah gives you a different look at the region than what people are used to, especially if you’re an American student,” she says. “I feel like we have preconceived notions about the Arab world that working with Akkasah really changed for me.”

Written by Kelsey Rexroat

NYU Buenos Aires: A Day in the Life

Posted on October 9, 2023, modified on October 10, 2023 by Maxine P

Jida, a College of Arts and Science sophomore, shares what a typical day is like for her at NYU Buenos Aires, offering insights on her experiences volunteering, living with her host mother, and soaking up the opportunity to live and study at the NYU global network’s southernmost site.

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

NYU Affiliations Around the World: A Robust Network for Research and Study

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Maxine P

Students not only gain perspective and knowledge from time spent away from their home campus but also benefit from NYU partnerships with local institutions in the University’s global network. With one partnership that began before the global site itself was founded and another established over 50 years ago, it’s clear these relationships are invaluable to NYU research, scholarship, and community.

NYU Berlin

The Wilhelm von Humboldt Memorial in front of Humboldt University

Humboldt University in Berlin

NYU Berlin’s first agreement with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin was in 1995, and the partnership remains as strong as ever. Today, students can enroll in courses at Humboldt and access its library. In addition to its partnership with Humboldt-Universität, NYU Berlin has an impressive record of establishing—and continuing—student and faculty exchange programs with other German universities. For example, in 1995 NYU established an agreement with the Freie Universität Berlin. Over 20 years later, in 2019, Freie Universität hosted Radha S. Hegde, NYU professor of media, culture, and communication, as the Dahlem International Network Professor in Gender Studies to teach two seminars.

NYU London

Before NYU London was established in 1999, the University held a partnership with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) for NYU Tisch School of the Arts students. Even as course offerings and programming expanded into the NYU London we know today, that relationship has remained steadfast for over 20 years. Each semester, a small group of NYU students audition for placement in RADA’s Shakespeare in Performance program. Students learn all aspects of performing Shakespeare as they work with a variety of RADA instructors. The intensive program culminates with the performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays. A more recent partnership with the National Film and Television School was established in 2018, with the first NYU students taking Directing the Actor: London in 2019. At the end of the course, students shoot and direct professional actors on a soundstage.

NYU Paris

A young woman on a laptop sits on the steps to the Sorbonne, a building with large columns.

The Sorbonne building houses various Parisian universities including the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Over the years, NYU Paris has established a number of agreements with local universities, including Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Université Paris Cité, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, and Université Paris Sciences et Lettres. These agreements allow NYU Paris students to take courses at these institutions, while Paris-based students have the opportunity to study at NYU’s campus in New York City. The relationship between NYU and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne dates back to the founding of NYU Paris in 1969. Currently, the agreement allows NYU Paris students with advanced proficiency in French to take Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne classes in subjects ranging from art and history to philosophy and mathematics. In addition, the University’s partnership with Université Sorbonne Nouvelle dates back almost as long—to 1975. Eligible NYU Paris students can take courses there in literature, cinema, theatre, and media studies.

NYU Sydney

A building in the Victorian Academic Gothic Revival style in front of a green manicured lawn

A view from inside the University of Sydney Quadrangle

In November 2021 NYU established a new partnership with the oldest university in Australia, the University of Sydney (USYD). Through the partnership, NYU Sydney students have all the benefits of being a full-time USYD student: living on campus, enrolling in USYD courses, and participating in the Industry and Community Projects Units (ICPUs). ICPUs pair students with an industry partner and academic lead to work on real issues that industry, community, and government organizations encounter. And the partnership benefits are reciprocal—USYD students have the opportunity to enroll in Sydney-based courses taught by NYU instructors or spend a semester abroad at NYU’s campus in New York City or one of NYU’s global academic sites.

NYU Tel Aviv

A partnership with Tel Aviv University (TAU) further enriches students taking science courses at NYU Tel Aviv. TAU, Israel’s largest university, is just a short distance from the NYU global academic center. While NYU Tel Aviv offers science courses, including Organic Chemistry II and General Physics II, TAU offers the lab sections for those courses.

Three people in white lab coats and safety glasses in a chemistry lab

NYU Tel Aviv students take a chemistry course at Tel Aviv University’s labs.

In addition, undergraduate students can intern in a research lab through NYU Tel Aviv’s biology internships at TAU. Depending on the type of research conducted at each lab, students may learn different techniques like cell culture, gel electrophoresis, and microscopy. During the internship, students take part in the experimentation, research, and writing processes with at least one PhD student. What’s more, TAU students can also take advantage of NYU’s resources in return by enrolling at one of the University’s global academic sites for a semester.

No Business Like Show Business: Internships at NYU Los Angeles

Posted on March 13, 2023, modified on March 20, 2023 by Maxine P

Sean sits on a couch across from his supervisor as people walk by in the background

Sean discusses a project with his supervisor at Atlantic Records

While attending NYU Los Angeles, students from across the University enroll in the Experiential Learning Seminar. Taught by entertainment and media industry professionals, the seminar focuses on key areas like production, business, and criticism. A requirement of the NYU Los Angeles program, the seminar pairs classroom learning with real-world experience to integrate professional development and relevant research and debate and expand students’ understanding of how these industries work.

Discovering New Aspirations

Sean Kelly, a Music Business major and recording artist, has always been interested in the arts. In his first year at NYU, he fell in love with the business side of the industry while learning about record contracts and royalties. He knew NYU Los Angeles was the right place to augment his academic work with professional experience. As soon as Sean was admitted to the program, he applied for internships at his dream companies, one of which was the Warner Music Group. Atlantic Records, a label under Warner Music Group, hired him, and he was thrilled to be a sales and streaming intern.

Sean Kelly

Sean worked with various departments to ensure projects were ready for release and tracked streaming performance across channels. “Sitting in meetings gave me the scoop on how different departments function,” he says. “Communication and flexibility are huge skills to have in the music industry, and they’re ones I developed on the job.”

The internship reinforced Sean’s love for the music industry, but it also taught him about new positions and departments he didn’t know existed. “I definitely have new aspirations because of my deeper understanding of how labels operate,” he says. “I left LA with new career prospects and goals as well as completely new passions and interests.”

Building a Network

Margo Resnik

Margo Resnik, Tisch School of the Arts Class of 2022, majored in Cinema Studies and knew she wanted to work in the film industry. But she also craved a role that would include analysis and history. After transferring from a community college in Santa Monica, CA, to NYU, she spent a year in New York City and then realized NYU Los Angeles would be a better fit for her goals: to be close to the film industry and graduate early.

Finding an internship in the competitive Los Angeles market wasn’t easy, but Margo credits NYU Los Angeles with making the process as smooth as possible. “They have a running list of new and upcoming postings that is updated daily, and they use every connection they have to help introduce you to different companies and people,” she says. Margo’s hard work and patience paid off when Artist Publishing Group hired her as a marketing intern last fall. During the internship, Margo learned many practical skills, but the relationships she formed were more important to her. “My boss was so incredibly helpful,” she says. “I’m still in contact with him, and he regularly reaches out to see how I am doing and provide me with leads for potential jobs. The entire experience has shown me there are people in this industry who truly want to help you.”

Written by Kristin Maffei

Students Traveled to NYU Tel Aviv Through a Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminar

Posted on March 6, 2023, modified on March 7, 2023 by Kristin Law

“The entire experience was really rewarding,” says Alice Hallock, a first-year Educational Theatre major at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, about her trip to NYU Tel Aviv. “Everything we did was grounded in the course. We got to really explore the culture, but, in the end, everything came back to what we learned from the textbooks. It was amazing to see it all play out in a real-world situation—you don’t get that with other classes.”

A group of students pose for a selfie with the ocean in the background

NYU Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminar students pose for a photo in Tel Aviv where their curriculum focused on families, schools, and child development came to life.

Established in 2012, the Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminars are semester-long, seminar-style courses that incorporate an international trip to one of 10 available NYU global academic centers. Open to first- and second-year students, the courses integrate a global perspective into the study of an interdisciplinary, liberal arts–based topic, from fashion and music to sustainability and biodiversity. Four seminars are offered every year—two in the fall and two in the spring—each focused on a different subject. This fall, NYU Steinhardt offered the course Families, Schools, and Child Development, where students traveled to Israel to experience their learnings in real time.

Families, Schools, and Child Development, led by Clinical Associate Professor of Applied Psychology Adina Schick, allows students to dive into readings, studies, and research projects throughout the semester. When the class arrived in Tel Aviv, it was as if their coursework came to life. The group spent each morning and afternoon of the trip visiting different schools in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They had conversations with both elementary and high school students and learned about the differences—and similarities—between their experiences.

Five students sitting on benches in discussion

Debra Amata, majoring in Instrumental Performance, and Aaliyah Kamara, majoring in Applied Psychology, interview high school students at Jerusalem’s Mae Boyar High School international program.

“The class taught me a lot about noticing people of other cultures and not just celebrating them but really learning from them,” adds Alice. “It was impactful to talk to these kids then realize, ‘Oh, I went through this same exact thing.’ It opened my mind, and I know I’ll carry the trip and the conversations I had with me throughout my life, especially when I’m working with other children.”

Tiana Elavia, a second year at NYU Steinhardt majoring in Applied Psychology, went to elementary school in India and high school in the United States. According to Tiana, her personal experience in different educational systems and the opportunity to visit classrooms, talk to students, and learn about the Israeli educational system while on the class trip are what drew her to apply for the seminar in the first place. “The direct conversations we had with people, the hands-on work, that’s what I was looking for,” explains Tiana. “With this kind of trip, this kind of class, you get to talk to people about what they’re doing instead of just sitting in class reading an article. You get to be there yourself and ask your own questions.”

In Tel Aviv Applied Psychology major Mishal Shafique learns about an urban farming initiative with an elementary school student.

While second-year students are invited to apply to the Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminars, first-year students who meet a seminar’s specific requirements are invited to participate. The opportunity to travel their first year is often an appealing factor for deciding prospective students. The seminars give first-year NYU students a taste of what life is like at its global campuses and sites and, often, can be launching pads for future study away opportunities. “The biggest takeaway for me was just learning and thinking about how there are so many different people and ideologies, how there are so many things going on around the world that you just don’t know about,” says Tiana, who is making the most of NYU’s global opportunities and spending the spring semester at NYU Sydney. “This class really helped me broaden my horizons about different cultures, thoughts, and ideas.”

Written by Kelly McHugh-Stewart

NYU Students Live and Learn Abroad Thanks to Global Awards

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Katie L

For many students at NYU, a global education isn’t just an option, it’s a given. Gaining international experience provides students with a springboard to hone language skills, pursue advanced research, and build a global network. Many of NYU’s aspiring overseas scholars apply to available scholarships and fellowships to make their dreams of going abroad a reality. Competitive awards provide singular opportunities to explore the world and continue one of the many values seeded at NYU—being a global citizen. It is a lifelong educational pursuit, and students and alumni have a full office—the Office of Global Awards (OGA)—at NYU dedicated to helping them determine the best fit for them and prepare competitive application materials. So, following the recent announcement that NYU is one of the top producers of Fulbright US students, we’re celebrating the scholars who embody the NYU ethos of a campus without walls on the global stage.

Fulbright Program

OGA runs NYU’s internal Fulbright advising and endorsement process, offering students and alumni support, from workshops and modules to accountability and community, throughout the process. Last year, 25 NYU students and alumni were awarded Fulbright grants to research, study, or teach abroad. Fulbright scholars were in countries as diverse as Brazil, Estonia, Indonesia, Jamaica, South Africa, Spain, and Sri Lanka. For this year’s Fulbright process, 67 NYU students are currently semifinalists, and results will be announced later this semester.

Rhodes Scholarship

Perhaps one of the most well-known scholarships, the Rhodes Scholarship grants students the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford as a fully funded and full-time postgraduate student. Gustė Gurčinaitė, an NYU Abu Dhabi Class of 2023 student, is currently majoring in Political Science with minors in Environmental Studies and Legal Studies. As a 2023 Rhodes Scholar, Gustė intends to pursue an MPhil in Environmental Change and Management.

Critical Language Scholarship

The US Department of State classifies certain languages as “critical languages.” That is, languages essential to national security and economic success. The Critical Language Scholarship Program, sponsored by the US Department of State, takes US students abroad for eight to 10 weeks for an intensive study and immersive cultural experience. Two undergraduate NYU students received the award in 2022. Christina Lee, an NYU College of Arts and Science East Asian Studies and Journalism double major, studied Chinese in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Luna Belle Vassão, a Global Liberal Studies major with a concentration in politics, rights, and development studied Japanese in Okayama, Japan.

Marshall Scholarship

By studying in the United Kingdom, Marshall scholars gain a unique understanding and lasting appreciation of everything the country has to offer. The two-year graduate school scholarship supports academically gifted and personally talented US students while they study in the UK. This award helps support storyteller and activist Callie Holley, Tisch School of the Arts Class of 2022, in her pursuit of an MA in Black Studies at Birmingham City University. Callie was one of four finalists from NYU considered for the scholarship in 2022 and the fourth NYU recipient to receive the scholarship in the past three years.

George J. Mitchell Scholarship

Sponsored by the US-Ireland Alliance, the Mitchell Scholarship introduces and connects accomplished, community-minded students to the island of Ireland. Each year, up to 12 Mitchell Scholars are chosen to conduct postgraduate study abroad in the discipline of their choice at any institution in Ireland or Northern Ireland. In 2021 Marilu Duque, Tandon School of Engineering Class of 2019, was selected from a pool of over 450 students. At Technological University Dublin, Marilu studied Criminology with a focus on cybercrime.

Schwarzman Scholars

As China’s role as a global power grows and becomes more complex, it’s increasingly important that the next generation of leaders understands this country of nearly 1.5 billion people. Schwarzman Scholars attend Tsinghua University in Beijing, where they complete a one-year master’s degree in Global Affairs. Throughout the year, they deepen their appreciation of Chinese culture and commerce through lectures, mentorship, language instruction, and travel. NYU students from across schools and majors have won the highly selective award. In 2022 four NYU students were named Schwarzman Scholars; in 2023 that number increased to six.

Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship

The Gilman Scholarship program provides study abroad scholarships to US undergraduate students who currently receive a Federal Pell Grant as part of their tuition. Over the last two years, 48 NYU students received the Gilman Scholarship to support their study abroad experience. While awards typically average up to $5,000, students who apply to the Critical Need Language Award can receive additional funding. Critical languages as of 2023 include Arabic, Bangla, Japanese, Korean, and Turkish.

The Mission for Mental Health

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Katie L

Brian Hall is a world-renowned expert in global mental health, and he’s also the director of the Center for Global Health Equity and a professor of global public health at NYU Shanghai. According to Hall, the mission of the Center for Global Health Equity is to develop evidence around interventions that improve public mental health services and, in particular, respond to populations who experience adversities, including complex emergencies and disasters.

How does it fulfill its mission? “NYU Shanghai has given its full support to develop a leading center in global public health, and that commitment has already led to the center’s publication of more than 30 papers within 2022,” Hall says. Among its admirable output of work this year is a study on China’s existing literature in English and Chinese on mental health and psychological support (MHPSS) during calamities in the country from 2000 to 2021. The paper, “Mental health and psychosocial interventions to limit the adverse psychological effects of disasters and emergencies in China: A scoping review,” aims to understand the country’s MHPSS intervention research, policies for disasters and emergencies, and the efficacy of these interventions.

Hall’s research reveals that China’s experience in postcrisis psychosocial support was limited prior to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Since then, China has rapidly mobilized trained professionals to provide psychiatric and psychosocial services in affected communities, as demonstrated in the responses to the 2008 earthquake in the Sichuan Province and the COVID-19 outbreak in the Hubei Province in early 2020. In spite of these improvements, however, the study shows that critical gaps remain. For example, a lack of integration of MHPSS responses into the current national and local emergency response system, missing supervision and rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of mental health services, and regional imbalance in the quality and coverage of these services persist.

“It is critical to understand how China responds to disasters as this sets the stage for future development in the field domestically and provides the world a key vantage point to learn from successful implementation of MHPSS in our country,” says Hall. As senior author of the research and a commissioner of the Lancet Commission on Mental Health in China, Hall worked closely with notable scholars from Shanghai Mental Health Center, Sichuan University’s Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Columbia University for over a year to complete the project. The paper is part of the preparatory work for the Lancet Commission of Mental Health in China, cochaired by Central South University professor Xiao Shuiyuan and Columbia University professor Michael Phillips. The paper was recently published in The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, a leading journal dedicated to advancing clinical practices and health policies in the Western Pacific region.

Repurposed with permission from NYU Shanghai News and Publications

Visions for the Future

Posted on November 28, 2022 by Maxine P

At NYU Abu Dhabi, Thani AlMheiri imagines the United Arab Emirates that could be

Thani AlMheiri

Nobody can forecast the future. But NYU Abu Dhabi Class of 2023 student Thani AlMheiri is trying his best. And he’s excited to be part of it. In fact, he points to his education at NYU Abu Dhabi for preparing him for his current work as a participant in a new United Arab Emirates (UAE) government initiative and beyond.

Thani is a member of the Futureneers program, run by the UAE’s Government Development and the Future Office, designed to bring “together young Emirati talents from various strategic fields to design ideas and solutions aiming to enhance the UAE’s readiness for the future.”

“Futureneers is an unpaid part-time position. It is more about being a board member and leading projects that prepare the country for the future,” Thani explains. A Philosophy major, Thani credits NYU Abu Dhabi with helping him dream big and develop his ambitions. After coming to NYU Abu Dhabi, he says, “My educational scope expanded dramatically thanks to the diverse and deep range of disciplines offered in its liberal arts curriculum.” Thani took part in the Academic Enrichment Program, which helps prepare Emirati students to succeed at NYU. The program focuses on developing qualitative, linguistic, and argumentation skills through three thematically integrated courses. Additionally, it provides robust mentorship for students as they transition to the University. “The team of professors and educators were the best, and I owe them a very special thank you. Without them, I wouldn’t have learned to think across disciplines and see the world from multiple perspectives,” says Thani. “The program was the first step in my Futureneers journey. It encouraged me to start reading about government and philosophy.”

Then Professor Matthew Silverstein’s Tolerance course cemented Thani’s newfound interest in ethics and politics. “The course taught me about the many views of religious toleration and how government involvement affects religious practice,” he says. He was hooked: “It really solidified my interest in government and philosophy, which ultimately led to my role as a Futureneer. Today, I hope to become a lawyer or philosophy professor and turn my education into practical service to better my growing country.”

As a Futureneer, Thani is doing just that. Working with others in his cohort, he confidently envisions a vivid and optimistic future for the UAE. “I believe the UAE can become an innovative green hub and, eventually, a carbon-free society. Education will be available to everyone, and everyone will contribute what they learn back to society,” he affirms. “I want this to be a place where pioneers can come and try out their craziest ideas, ones that would never be possible anywhere else.”

Repurposed and updated with permission from Meet NYU