The Peru Project is an ongoing endeavor of UC Davis’ Engineers Without Borders chapter, a student-run, non-profit organization focused on providing engineering expertise and help to developing areas in need. The project, which began in 2016, seeks to provide a reliable source of potable water to a community in La Huaylla, Cajamarca, Peru.

Among the many experiences lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been studying abroad. Given the stay-at-home orders and health directives, the prospect of students traveling overseas became dangerous and study abroad programs have been canceled or moved online since March 2020. However, as vaccines begin to be distributed, hope for a travel-filled future lingers in the air and provides possibilities for students dreaming of a study abroad experience. 

On March 4, the sixth annual International Connections Reception, hosted by Global Affairs, brought together the UC Davis community in an online forum to celebrate globally engaged faculty, staff, and scholars. The event included the announcement of this year’s Academic Federation and Academic Senate honorees for the Excellence in Teaching in Study Abroad Awards, conferred jointly between the Academic Senate and Global Affairs.

Christal Juarez, a recent UC Davis Letters and Science grad in anthropology and international relations, shares the impact of her global learning experiences while at UC Davis and explains the importance of accessible global education for all students. Read about Christal's global learning journey.

A recent UC Davis College of Letters and Science graduate has been awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship, a decades-old British government program that pays for American students to pursue advanced degrees at British universities. Valencia Scott (B.A., anthropology and international relations, ’20) will pursue a doctorate in criminology at the University of Oxford, where she will focus her studies on the criminalization of Black immigrants. She is planning a career in international human rights law.

In recognition of its extraordinary global learning, research, and engagement efforts, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today named the University of California, Davis the Platinum Award level winner of the 2020 Institutional Award for Global Learning, Research & Engagement. The Platinum Award is APLU’s highest-level award granted to a member institution in recognition of inclusive and comprehensive efforts to internationalize their campus.

While a majority of students spend the entirety of their college careers in Davis, many choose to participate in programs abroad and spend a duration of time learning in a new location. Today, off-campus programs have switched to a new reality of remote functioning during a pandemic to create the same impactful experience from the comfort of each student’s bedroom.

UC Davis’ Seminar Abroad in Nepal recently earned “highly commended” status in the category of Progressive Education Delivery, as judged by Professionals in International Education, or PIE, an independent media, recruitment and events company.

UC Davis has been named a finalist for two PIEoneer Awards, which celebrate innovation and achievement across all components of international education, by The PIE News, a leading independent media company for a global community of professionals. For the 2020 awards, UC Davis has been selected as a finalist of the Progressive Education Delivery Award and the Sustainability International Impact Award.

From mitigating food insecurity to coordinating COVID-19 treatment trials, UC Davis alumae Michelle Lee and Emily Fehrman are putting their degrees—and global learning experiences working alongside communities—to work during the pandemic.