Smith School Celebrates International Education Week

Santiago Luna, the coordinator for the Center for Global Business at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, writes about International Education Week, held November 12-16, 2018.

Students, faculty and staff throughout the Robert H. Smith School of Business and across the University of Maryland celebrated International Education Week (IEW), November 12-16, 2018. The Smith School's Center for Global Business (CGB) hosted a range of events — from an international dance workshop to a launch of the center’s first book — to celebrate the global mindset of its students, faculty, and staff.

IEW is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State. During this week, universities and organizations throughout the world celebrate international education and exchange with special events.

CGB greeted the Smith community with fresh donuts and a calendar of events to kick off the week of IEW. The center later hosted the International Dance Workshop where CGB’s Marina Augoustidis taught Greek dance and master’s student Gauravi Saha showed off her Bollywood moves. 

Students’ knowledge of everything global was tested during the annual global trivia game. CGB collaborated with the Dingman Center on their Terp Marketplace during global entrepreneurship week. Smith and CGB-branded prizes were distributed so that the winners could wear their new branded gifts during Smith Day and show how they were #UMDSmithProud.

Sponsored by CGB, Smith Master Students Association, Office of International Affairs and International Student and Scholar Services, over 40 participants gathered for casual conversation and coffee during international coffee hour, a weekly event traditionally hosted by OIA and ISSS. The focus of conversation at the coffee hour was on UMD’s initiative, The Year of Immigration.

CGB’s academic director, Kislaya Prasad, hosted the faculty lunch & learn to discuss his book Cuba in Transition which was co-edited by Rebecca Bellinger, executive director of CGB. In the book, Prasad discusses the impact of economic liberalization as witnessed in Cuba’s restaurant industry. The event was attended by various members of the Smith community and was available to remote participants. At the end of the event, guests received a complimentary signed copy of the book.

By the end of the week, hundreds of students, staff, and faculty had participated in IEW events and learned more about global opportunities both on- and off-campus.

Visit rhsmith.umd.edu/global to learn about upcoming international-related events. Help us continuously celebrate that #SmithKnowsGlobal and #SmithGoesGlobal.

International Education Week was sponsored in part by CIBE, a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education.