Education Abroad Fair Will Showcase Opportunities in International Education

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 31, 2012) -- The Spring 2012 Education Abroad Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the Student Center Grand Ballroom.

The fair will showcase multiple different avenues for UK students hoping to gain international experience, including opportunities in study abroad, research abroad, international internships, as well as service learning and teaching abroad. From 10-11a.m., the doors will open early to welcome UK faculty members who are interested in learning about teaching abroad opportunities.

The event is the Education Abroad office's second spring fair, as it traditionally hosts its major event in the fall. While last year the spring fair took place in the Student Center Small Ballroom, the number of organizations, offices and partners attending the 2012 fair has pushed the event into a larger venue.

The fair will unite third-party education abroad partners, UK faculty-sponsored programs and various offices on campus that aide students in pursuing education abroad — offices like the Stuckert Career Center, the UK Office of External Scholarships and the Office of Student Financial Aid.

The WildCard ID Center will also manage a booth at the fair. As a passport application agency, the office can help students begin the process of acquiring a passport.

"The fair allows students to ask questions and have all of the necessary resources together in one room," said Thomas Teague, Education Abroad advisor in charge of coordinating the event. "I like to call it one-stop-shopping. When students come to our office, we often have to refer them to other offices like Financial Aid, but at the fair, that office will already be there to help."

The fair will focus primarily on summer programs, with a particular emphasis on faculty-led programs. Education Abroad Director Anthony Ogden said that students responded well to faculty-led programs at the 2011 fair, and that faculty are becoming increasingly interested in providing course options abroad.

"We've dramatically increased the faculty-led programming that we're doing. I think that means more faculty are talking about education abroad in their classrooms, and they are actually offering courses for UK credit," Ogden said. "More students are realizing that they can complete their coursework abroad without postponing graduation."

Third-party partnership providers, organizations like International Studies Abroad (ISA) and the Knowledge Exchange Institute (KEI), will provide information about summer programs and schedule further correspondence with interested students. The Education Abroad office maintains a Partner Advising Center in Bradley Hall to facilitate this communication.

Students can also learn about exchange programs and consortia programs, such as those offered through the Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS).

"While we are hoping to highlight the UK-sponsored programs, we certainly don't want to exclude any other options," Teague said. "Our goal is to get students connected with programs that fit them best academically."

The Education Abroad office will manage a table as well, staffed with student ambassadors who can answer general questions and advise their peers about international options. The table will give away prizes such as T-shirts and inflatable globes.

The information is not limited to undergraduates; several programs offer graduate student options and internship opportunities.

"Our office is there to guide any UK student, at any level of education, through making education abroad possible," Teague said.

The Education Abroad office will also provide information on scholarships, an issue Ogden said he hopes registers with students, since the office has nearly doubled the amount of scholarship money that it offers.

"If a student says it's too expensive to participate in an education abroad program, he or she hasn't done enough research," Ogden said.

Ogden and Teague are both optimistic about the turnout for the event.

"We have wonderful faculty that are excited about their programs, and we have our partners with whom we have formed long-standing relationships," said Teague. "This fair will be an opportunity for students to ask questions and progress in their plans to study abroad."

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Geegan, (859) 257-5365; sarah.geegan@uky.edu