Campus News

UK International Center's Global Engagement Academy Expands Fall Course Offerings

photo of flags on Bradley Hall

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 18, 2020) The UK Global Engagement Academy (GEA), an initiative launched in the spring of 2020 by the International Center (UKIC) at the University of Kentucky, has opened registration for online fall courses.

The GEA, designed for UK faculty and staff, helps participants enhance knowledge and develop skills on various aspects of campus internationalization. Additionally, the academy is the first-ever free professional development program designed to build cross-cutting competencies in international education and engagement.

UK continues to become a more diverse campus, and the campus community is being called upon to support international faculty, staff and students. The comprehensive courses offer guidance by providing insight into the various aspects of education abroad, managing international transactions and international recruitment.

“The Global Engagement Academy will prepare me for pursuing international ties and developing study abroad programs, plus it serves as professional development for me as a faculty member,” Ryan Voogt, lecturer in the Lewis Honors College, said. “The GEA program has made me more aware about the challenges associated with one of my career goals, which is to develop more international ties to Eastern Europe and design a faculty-led study abroad.”

It's an ideal professional development opportunity if you:

  • are interested in teaching, researching or traveling abroad;
  • work with international students;
  • manage or implement international-related programs/policies;
  • manage international transactions; and/or
  • promote/recruit for the university internationally.

Participants can earn a GEA certificate by completing three foundation courses and three elective courses within three years. Upon completion, they will be eligible to apply for a $250 academy grant to help support professional development.

The foundation courses offered this fall include: Internationalization at UK and Global Trends, and Global Mobility.

The elective courses offered include:

  • Beyond Handshakes — Developing Sustainable Partnerships
  • Chinese Culture 101
  • Chinese History Through Chinese Art
  • Developing a Course Abroad
  • Global Health 101
  • Intercultural Business Communications: Theory & Practice
  • International Travel Readiness
  • Making the Case for Study Abroad
  • Recruitment 101

To register for the Global Engagement Academy, visit the UKIC website. If you have additional questions, please contact shan.huang@uky.edu..

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.