Global Dimensions

News and notes from across NYU's Campuses and Sites

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

The Rise of Experimental Circus in Prague: Artistic Research over Entertainment

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Katie L

It’s early evening and the National Theatre: The New Stage in Prague is sold out for the premiere show of Krajina těla or Land of Body. Sounds of waves crashing and a cello fill the hall as aerial acrobat Alžbeta Tichá climbs up a dangling rope, twisting, flipping, and falling dangerously fast before pulling the rope taut. While she moves through her choreography, eight LED screens placed around the stage show close-up images of hair follicles.

This is circus. Or, a kind of circus. With its understated exploration of physicality—a visual poem through movement—Krajina těla is an example of the experimental circus style emerging in the Czech Republic. Decidedly different from the theatrical and showy version of modern circus that Czech companies have mastered, the change comes as a new generation of performers enters the field, bringing with them new techniques and concepts.

Alžbeta Tichá, in motion midair supported by a rope held by another performer

Alžbeta Tichá on the rope in “Krajina těla”
Photo courtesy of Vojtěch Brtnický, Narodni divadlo

Czech contemporary circus was created right after the fall of communism in 1989. “Metaphorical, symbolic—the circus as a physical form was there as a metaphor for something else. Like you are on the trapeze, so you are representing a bird, for example,” says Veronika Štefanová, research supervisor of CIRQUEON, a Prague-based circus center. Theatre folk were inspired by touring European circus companies, but, without formal training to make stand-alone circus shows, they began incorporating these elements into their theatre productions.

The style’s popularity exploded in 2004 with the annual summer festival, Letní Letná, started by Jiří Turek, who has a background in dancing, miming, and alternative theatre. When he first hosted the festival in Prague, there were 6,000 attendees. Now it attracts 60,000 people, making it the biggest contemporary circus festival in the Czech Republic. “We invite the biggest companies,” Turek says of his festival direction. “We must do it. The smaller festivals cannot invite them; it is too expensive.” The necessity of featuring large companies has developed a large, unvarying style of circus—commercial and theatrical.

Cirk La Putyka is a case in point. It is the latest company in Prague, currently performing Cesty, which features more than 50 performers in a classic circus top. The acrobats, dancers, and actors wear flashy costumes while thunderous sound effects accentuate the stunts. In one act nine women flip around Hula-Hoops spinning high in the air. In another, a man walks amid the audience seats and breathes out orange flames. These moments are interspersed with storytelling and dialogue. The show is a glamorous spectacle.

A performer seated with legs crossed in an aerial hoop suspended from a light rack

Cirk La Putyka performers in “Cesty”
Photo courtesy: Cirk La Putyka

This “wow” factor is necessary, explains researcher Štefanová. “They would like to really live on circus and work only in circus, and it means you have to sell a lot of tickets.” Cirk La Putyka and other large companies have successfully done so, regularly selling out shows. In recent years the experimental shows have gained popularity with new techniques by younger artists. The kids, who 10 years ago signed up for informal circus classes at CIRQUEON, are of a professional age now. Tichá, the rope acrobat in Krajina těla, performs in several avant-garde shows. Along with Krajina těla, she is part of Thin Skin, a production staged in the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art.

Tichá emphasizes that she is not so much entertaining an audience as pushing the limits of her art, conducting a kind of research while onstage. “When I go on the rope, I have to be present. There is no chance to think about anything else.”

Repurposed and edited with permission by Dispatches

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

On Art and Diasporic Aesthetics: The Art Scenes of Berlin and New York City

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Maxine P

Kulturbrauerei complex on a day with blue sky

One of NYU Berlin’s academic centers is located in the Kulturbrauerei complex, pictured here.

Cecilia Bien, a Global Research Initiative Fellow in Berlin, discusses the differences and similarities between two cosmopolitan art scenes, Berlin’s and New York City’s, as well as her thoughts on what makes art considered art with Nina Katchadourian, a clinical professor on the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study faculty.

Their conversation has been condensed for clarity.

Cecilia: I’m interested in what is not yet framed as art. I’m interested in attitudes, the impulse. I am thinking about how to show “marginal” work in a contemporary context without the feeling of it being used for representation or shown in a way that has to be overexplained.

Nina: When you compare Berlin to New York City, what are the differences or similarities you see in fashion, style, or haircuts, for example, or how people walk down the street?

Cecilia: Reference to club culture doesn’t happen the same way in New York City as it does here. Fashion in Berlin subscribes way less to trends in favor of individuality—even if it’s ugly. I find that refreshing because maybe it means that the hierarchy of taste is always being questioned.

There are different codes here. A lot of the styles in Berlin seem to be more lived. I also see how subcultures can complicate expectations of diasporas. On the flip side, I feel like a lot of what gets absorbed by the cultural industry in Berlin is appropriated from what’s been happening for a while in New York City.

Nina: We’ve talked in a lot of different contexts about when something from the periphery gets absorbed into the mainstream. I think you have a good antenna for this and that it’s deeply interesting to you. How can you tell when something like this is happening?

Cecilia: Recently, I’ve been focusing on when and why certain tastes change. When an incisive political message gets diluted, the aesthetics attached to it become normalized. I think about what the term “diasporic aesthetics” means to people who understand things through representation. Diaspora is so layered and complex, but it seems to be becoming a euphemism for a certain kind of woke taste different enough from the norm but only with a certain kind of difference being accepted. It cannot feel bourgeois, but it must be digestible though not necessarily understood, and it must be appreciated without being deemed “trashy.” When I hear such aesthetics embraced as “beautiful,” I wonder what makes them so and which cultural tides had to change or switch course for them to be considered that way.

Nina: I’ve always known you as someone who thinks from two positions: a maker and a critical analyst of systems and institutions. When you think from those two positions, does one enhance the other? I know you’ve recently done some work as a curator. Do you think curating is a type of making?

Cecilia: I think it can be because it’s a way to conceptualize the making of an idea. I guess curating is also the making of an exhibition or the making of an argument. That said, making an exhibition about a so-called diasporic group does not count, for me, as the making of an argument. For example, I am no longer an Asian American outside of America. At least, this is how I feel I am perceived here. There are countless versions and political positions and reasons why people move from place to place, so how can you group them all by a prescribed cultural background? It’s quite superficial and certainly not enough to base a concept on.

Nina: What are some examples of an exhibition addressing a “vague diaspora,” and when do you think it works and when do you think it doesn’t?

Cecilia: A lot of times these exhibitions are accompanied by super research-based texts, which I often have a hard time with even though I also write some myself. Sometimes, I’m not sure what the relationship should be to the artwork, like whether it should exist in parallel as a complementary work or whether it should walk the viewer through, because a lot of times it is hard or impossible to place the work in an art historical context or within a canonical framework, which is what many viewers going to a museum or institution might expect. And still, the curatorial choices for non-Western art are also often from a Western-educated lens.

So these rather heavy-handed texts might be trying to contextualize the works in a new temporality but often come off as dry justifications of why the work is allowed to be there. There’s something slightly insecure in the overcompensation, and it feels a little like it’s not completely sure of what it should be doing.

At the moment, I work at an archive that is a collection of people globally reacting to and rejecting the canon and art history, a global network which came to be called Fluxus. In Prague Milan Knížák’s Aktual Walk considers everything between how to wear a garment and walk down the street to how to interact provocatively. This kind of work is impossible to pin down as an art object, as something that can be placed in a museum, or something understood purely by looking.

So it’s interesting to try to give these works significance without placing them in categories structured by a hierarchical order. Every day, we deal with questions of how to contextualize collective action outside of art history, how to show what is not necessarily called art, as art, and whether we should do it at all when most of what was created was ephemeral and meant for impermanence. But I still want to curate a show with Knížák’s drawings and sketches and correspondences between the artists in the collection as a way to show the very attitude that we’re talking about right now.

Repurposed and edited with permission by the NYU Berlin blog

Cecilia Bien

Cecilia Bien writes and organizes programs in Berlin, for artists as well as para-institutions such as SAVVY Contemporary and Archivio Conz, a Fluxus archive. Previously working in applied art and fashion contexts in New York City, she came to Berlin to complete studies in art and cultural theory, recenter her critique of dominant narratives, and understand her own subjectivity outside of an identity politic tied to living in the US. Her current practice concerns diasporic aesthetics and situating play, chance, and community coming from the periphery in the context of art.

Nina Katchadourian

Nina Katchadourian is an interdisciplinary artist whose work includes video, performance, sound, sculpture, photography and public projects. Her video Accent Elimination was included at the 2015 Venice Biennale in the Armenian pavilion, which won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. In 2016 Katchadourian created Dust Gathering, an audio tour on the subject of dust, for the Museum of Modern Art. A traveling solo museum survey of her work entitled Curiouser opened in March 2017 at the Blanton Museum of Art and toured to the Cantor Art Center at Stanford University in fall 2017. It will conclude at the BYU Museum in Provo, Utah in March 2018. An accompanying monograph, also entitled Curiouser and edited by curator Veronica Roberts, is available from Tower Books. Katchadourian’s work is public and private collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Blanton Museum of Art, Morgan Library, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Margulies Collection, and Saatchi Gallery. She has won grants and awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation, the Tiffany Foundation, the American-Scandinavian Foundation, and the Nancy Graves Foundation. Katchadourian lives and works in Brooklyn and she is a clinical professor on the faculty of NYU Gallatin. She is represented by Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, and Pace Gallery, New York.

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

The New Now Summit: Informing and Inspiring NYU Los Angeles Students

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Kristin Law

Last semester NYU Los Angeles presented The New Now Summit, bringing actors, writers, educators, artists, executives, and creative technologists together to discuss the future of filmed content and how technological, societal, and market forces will affect it.

Alex Winter, Oscar Sharp, Lindsay Nuon, Gabriel Barcia-Colombo and Dan O’ Sullivan seated onstage in conversation.

Tisch alumni, filmmaker and actor Alex Winter moderates a panel entitled AI Created Entertainment, Inherent Bias and Opportunities for Change, featuring Tisch alum Oscar Sharp, cybersecurity expert, Lindsay Nuon, and Tisch faculty Gabriel Barcia-Colombo and Dan O’ Sullivan.

NYU Los Angeles sponsored the event with help from a Global Opportunity Grant awarded by the Office of Global Programs. With additional funding from the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology, the NYU site felt that they could produce and facilitate an event to meet the moment(s) of the evolving Hollywood landscape. From technological influences on storytelling and inclusive representation to the value and exploitation of intellectual property (IP), the NYU Los Angeles team knew what they wanted conversations to focus on. The summit addressed several driving questions: How can diverse voices be supported and amplified if prebranded or known IP is necessary to break through the media clutter? If tech is created with the inherent biases of humans, how can it be inclusive? And, with these things in mind, how can one ethically work with technology in creative industries?

The summit audience, seated, clapping and smiling.

Fall 2023 NYU Los Angeles students in the audience

Thought leaders from NYU’s campus in New York City, including Dr. Charlton McIlwain, vice provost and professor of media, culture, and communication at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, associate arts professor in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at the Tisch School of the Arts; and Dan O’Sullivan, associate dean of the Tisch Institute of Emerging Media, were among panelists who informed and inspired audience members. In fact, much of the audience were students from the NYU Los Angeles fall 2023 cohort. For Zoë Bolden, a Film and Television major, the most impactful panelist was Kelly Mi Li. “It was interesting to hear how she took an idea she had in 2013 and turned it into the Bling Empire, which premiered in 2021,” Zoë says. “It was inspiring to see how she never gave up on her idea. My favorite piece of advice was when she said you should always stay true to a project that you have created.”

Though the industry is ever-changing and challenging, students left the event emboldened for the future. Luke Nguyen, an NYU Abu Dhabi student majoring in Film and New Media, says he learned that “Opportunities will always show up when I show up. Don’t be afraid to fail; we get better when we fail. Know that failure is taking us where we need to be.” Zoe Stevens, a Theatre major from Tisch, adds, “There will be a lot of ‘nos’ before ‘yes.’ I have to fight for the rooms I am supposed to be in. I can start that by surrounding myself with good people who lift me.”

Repurposed and edited with permission by NYU Los Angeles

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

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

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

Homestays as Language Immersion

Posted on November 20, 2023, modified on November 20, 2023 by Maxine P

One of the many benefits students gain from homestays is the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the local language. Here, a few students share their experiences learning, growing, and perfecting their language skills with their host families.

Fiona sitting on a music box in front of a microphone

Fiona practicing with her host family’s music ensemble

Fiona Cantorna, an Environmental Studies and Spanish dual major at the College of Arts and Science (CAS), chose to live in a homestay because she “wanted to connect more to the Porteño (Buenos Aires, Argentina) community.” That’s exactly what she did: her host family was a part of a weekly music ensemble, and Fiona had the chance to join them in making music. “My homestay was instrumental in improving my Spanish,” she says. “It provided a casual environment to practice my listening and speaking skills, in which I learned lunfardo (Argentine vocabulary) and even picked up the local Rioplatense accent!”

Chloe Bouquet Brown, an NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study student, lived with host Mina and her son, Xach, in Paris’ 10th Arrondissement during her time studying away. “My French transformed enormously throughout my year with Mina and Xach,” Chloe recalls. “They pushed me to practice French around the house. It was difficult at times, being tired from classes and yearning for home, but in the end, my confidence grew with their positive encouragement in the sanctity of the homestay. I interned at a local art gallery and could ask them about professional terminology and French work customs.”

Justin Strong takes a selfie in front of a boat

Justin visiting Venice while studying at NYU Florence

Justin Strong, a Business major at NYU Stern concentrating in marketing and management, chose to live in a homestay at NYU Florence because he knew the impact it would have on his Italian. “The homestay experience was phenomenal for my Italian,” Justin shares. “I told my host mother that I didn’t know any Italian, but I wanted to speak and learn as much as possible. Throughout the semester, we persisted in Italian, and it really paid off. Soon enough, we were having full conversations. I was really grateful for the homestay experience. By the end of the term, I was chatting with numerous locals without needing to switch to English.”

Sam Husemann-Erickson, a CAS Politics major, says he decided to live in a homestay “not only because of the lower cost, but also because it was an excellent way to improve my Spanish and get to know Argentine cuisine and culture in depth.” His hosts were a retired couple who helped him navigate Buenos Aires and loved to cook.“My host parents were more than happy to teach me Argentine expressions and more natural ways to express myself, and our discussions over dinner and breakfast were a great way to practice my Spanish throughout my stay.” His host mother even kept track of the recipes he liked and, at the end of the semester, wrote them down so he could take them home.

Two students sitting at a table with their host family for dinner

Sam eating dinner with his housemate and host family

Devyn Costello-Henderson, a Vocal Performance major concentrating in classical voice at NYU Steinhardt, had studied French for years before deciding to study away at NYU Paris. She couldn’t pass up the chance a homestay gave her to improve her language skills. “Staying in a homestay forced me to become comfortable speaking the language,” Devyn continues. “I didn’t feel the need to speak perfectly, but I could communicate well with the family. My host family loved to chat with me, and it was very helpful to listen to their everyday conversations in French. I found I could quickly understand almost everything they said, even if my own vocabulary was not as complete. I had fluid conversations in French without needing to pause often to search for words. I still made mistakes, but I had a higher comfort and confidence level speaking the language.”