Issue 140 | November 2022

School of Social Work Office of Global Activities logo
OGA Newsletter
The Office of Global Activities (OGA) is dedicated to connecting MSW students to international social work opportunities through fundingspecial programs, academic resources, internationalized curriculum, and arranging faculty and student exchanges at partner institutions.

International Education Week (Nov. 14 - 18)

First observed in November 2000, International Education Week (IEW) celebrates the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State is an opportunity to highlight the value of global and cultural competencies and promote programs that help U.S. students and teachers develop global skills for success in the 21st century.

Spotlight: Global Social Work Career Panel

Global Social Work Career Panel

Thursday, November 17, 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET

Are you planning to practice social work internationally or in the U.S. with global populations? Join the Global Social Work Pathway and the Office of Global Activities for an alumni panel focused on global social work careers both in the U.S. and abroad!


During the panel, U-M MSW graduates who work in diverse social work roles in the U.S. and abroad will share information about their current jobs, the job search process, advice they have for current students for finding internationally-focused careers, and what they are looking forward to in the future. This panel will be held over Zoom, and time will be included for Q&A with the panelists. Instructions for joining the Zoom meeting will be sent on the day of the event to those who RSVP.



This year's panel features:


  • Bailey Castillo, MSW '22, Senior Casework Manager for US Refugee Admissions, International Rescue Committee, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Aimee Miller, LMSW, MSW '05, Clinical Social Worker and Owner, Interconnect: Counseling and Consulting, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and
  • Laura Sanchez, MSW '18, Deputy Director, Wayne County Economic Development, Dearborn, MI
Click here to RSVP!
Events

UM Global Photo Showcase Contest (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Monday, November 14, 5:30 - 7:00 PM ET

Brief Description: Join various U-M International Education units at the 2022 Global Photo Showcase, featuring student photography from all over the world! Vote for your favorite photos and enter raffles to win U-M prizes. Chat with study abroad returnees, international students, and international education professionals. Enjoy food and music from around the globe and learn about upcoming international opportunities! This event is organized by the Center for Global & Intercultural Study, Global Engagement - Office of the Provost, the International Institute, International Programs in Engineering, Ross Global Initiatives, School of Nursing - Office of Global Affairs, and the International Center.

Peace Corps and Your Global Public Health Career (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Tuesday, November 15, 5:30 - 6:30 PM ET

Brief Description: The Peace Corps Staff at U-M have an exciting two-part event series coming up on the Peace Corps and Global Health, including an information session and a RPCV panel event! These events are hosted in partnership with the School of Public Health. If you are interested in the Public Health, Nursing, Community Medicine, Healthcare or Health Education, these events are for you! The first part is an Information Session which will take place in person at the School of Public Health. The event will include a discussion of what is the Peace Corps, Benefits of being a Peace Corps Volunteer, Peace Corps and the Public Health Sector, and how to apply. There will be snacks and drinks at this event.

Kaldor Centre Conference: Turning points: New directions in refugee protection (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Tuesday, November 15 - Friday, November 18

Brief Description: Power shifts are under way from Kyiv to Kigali, Canberra to Canada, Washington to Wellington. How will these changing global dynamics reshape refugee law and the lives of people seeking safety? Are longstanding principles of international law being reaffirmed, or are new forms of protection and assistance emerging? The 2022 Kaldor Centre Conference will bring together experts from around the world to shed light on recent developments and analyse what they mean for the future of international protection. The conference includes a combination of virtual panels and in-person elements. You can join the virtual panels from anywhere in the world, and delegates can either participate in real time, or watch on demand. 

I-20 Travel Signature Sessions (Click here to learn more)

Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2:00 - 4:00 PM ET

Brief Description: The International Center staff will provide in-person I-20 travel signatures for F-1 students and their dependents who plan to travel internationally or need an updated signature. Please bring the following documents with you to receive a travel signature:

  • Original I-20 (if given an original signed hardcopy) OR Printout of most recent I-20 (if given an electronic copy)
  • I-94 printout/card
  • Passport
  • F-1 visa

Please do not submit a travel signature request through M-Passport if you will come to one of the in-person travel signature sessions. No registration is necessary.

Crossing Borders and Cuisines: A New Flavor of Sustainable Tourism (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Wednesday, November 16, 5:00 - 6:00 PM ET

Brief Description: Culinary-focused travel has become a hot trend within the tourism sector in recent years. But can this kind of travel be about much more than food? Yigal Schleifer, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Culinary Backstreets, will tackle that question and more during a talk hosted by the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. Schleifer will explore how Culinary Backstreets, which provides tours in a dozen cities around the world, uses food-oriented travel to promote cross-cultural communication and sustainable tourism for more impactful experiences. The talk will also look at how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted culinary travel and how this sector can be rebuilt with an eye towards sustainability.

International Alumni Panel (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Wednesday, November 16, 6:00 - 7:00 PM ET

Brief Description: The Office of Global Activities is proud to host an international alumni panel as part of our International Coffee Hour Program! Each panelist will discuss their experience after graduating from the U-M School of Social Work with their Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, their current position, and what it was like using their MSW degree either upon returning to their home country or remaining in the U.S. They will also answer students' questions and provide helpful tips for current international students. This event will be held over Zoom. The Zoom link will be attached to the registration confirmation email for those who RSVP. This year's panel will feature:

  • Maki Usui, Senior Desk Officer, Program Department (South Sudan and Uganda Program), Peace Winds Japan
  • Yujeong (Julie) Chang, Project Manager & Research Specialist, U-M School of Social Work
  • Meng (Tammy) Wang, LMSW, Health Care Social Worker, Bilingual Social Worker, Cliffside Rehabilitation and Residential HCC

Lunch & Learn: The Real History of Thanksgiving (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Thursday, November 17, 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET

Brief Description: Join the International Center for their Lunch & Learn series to hear about the complex history of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving. You will also discuss common traditions and what to expect if you join anyone for a Thanksgiving celebration. Lunch & Learn provides a space to discuss tricky and confusing topics about U.S. culture with other members of the international community. Discussions are informal and it's a great place to get your burning questions answered! Please note that in order to create a community space, these events are only open to international students, scholars, and H1-B employees. The International Center asks those who are not to request permission to join before attending.

Leicester Human Rights Arts and Film Festival: Asylum Seekers and the Cost of Living Crisis (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Thursday, November 17, 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET

Brief Description: The Leicester Human Rights Arts and Film Festival invites you to participate in this panel event, which will be taking place online. The cost of living crisis is having a devastating effect on the most vulnerable people in the UK, so this panel asks the questions: How is it affecting people seeking refuge? Why is it having this effect? And what ought to be done to support those experiencing the worst effects of the crisis? And by whom? Joining the panel to look at these questions and more are: Claudia Webbe, Member of Parliament for Leicester East, and representatives from the Refugee Council, Regularise, the British Red Cross VOICES Network, and York City of Sanctuary.

Social Justice from a Global Lens - Conversation & Potluck (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Thursday, November 17, 5:00 - 6:30 PM ET

Brief Description: This event, which is co-sponsored by the Office of Global Activities and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office, aims to bring together all the students participating in the Global Partners Program with other members of the SSW community who are interested in engaging in conversation about social justice from a global lens! It will be a great opportunity to connect, learn about how social justice issues manifest in our different home communities, and share food that tells stories about our diverse cultural backgrounds. During the event, there will be tables set up where attendees who are interested in discussing a similar social justice issue can sit together and discuss how that issue manifests in different communities across the globe. Each discussion will last for about 30 minutes, and participants will have the opportunity to rotate to different tables to discuss more than one theme. At the end of the event, everyone will come together to talk about their experiences and what they have learned.

Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Friday, November 18, 10:00 - 11:30 AM ET

Brief Description: Against long odds, the Anishinaabeg resisted removal, retaining thousands of acres of their homeland in what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Their success rested partly on their roles as sellers of natural resources and buyers of trade goods, which made them key players in the political economy of plunder that drove white settlement and U.S. development in the Old Northwest. But, as Michael Witgen demonstrates, the credit for Native persistence rested with the Anishannabeg themselves. Outnumbering white settlers well into the nineteenth century, they leveraged their political savvy to advance a dual citizenship that enabled mixed-race tribal members to lay claim to a place in U.S. civil society. Michael Witgen is a professor in the Department of History and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University, and he is a citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.

Where Science Meets Humanity: A Conversation with Dr. Mousumi Banerjee (Click here to RSVP)

Date: Friday, December 2, 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET

Brief Description: The Center for Global Health Equity’s 2022-2023 Academic Year Seminar Series - Journeys in Global Health Equity: Distances Traveled by Luminaries in the Field - continues with Dr. Mousumi Banerjee, Anant M. Kshirsagar Collegiate Research Professor of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health, and moderator Ryan Rego, Impact Scholar with the Center for Global Health Equity. Dr. Banerjee will discuss her experiences in India and Bangladesh that led to a transformation in how she understands her role in global public health. Banerjee will share how her trip to India in spring 2021, when the country was ravaged by its worst COVID wave, was the first time she truly saw the human side of the data she engages with daily as a biostatistician and how this has forever changed her approach to her work.

The Dance for Mother Earth Powwow Exhibit (Click here to learn more)

Date: Running until November 30

Brief Description: This exhibit features various aspects of the Native North American powwow. More specifically, it features the history and culture behind Ann Arbor’s "Dance for Mother Earth Powwow," which is approaching its much-anticipated 50th celebration. The Dance for Mother Earth Powwow is a multi-decade, intertribal celebration of Indigenous cultures. Stop by to learn more about The Dance for Mother Earth Powwow, modern Indigenous culture, and resources to connect to today on campus. The exhibit is on display at the Hatcher Library North Lobby.

Announcements

The International Institute is currently accepting applications for the Masters in International and Regional Studies (MIRS) program

MIRS combines an interdisciplinary curriculum, deep regional/thematic expertise, rigorous methodological training, and international experiences to enable students to situate global issues and challenges in their cultural, historical, geographical, political, and socioeconomic contexts and to approach them in diverse ways. MIRS is designed to prepare students for global career opportunities, whether in academia, private, or public sectors.


MIRS builds on the strengths of the International Institute’s interdisciplinary centers and programs. Their centers and programs rank among the nation’s finest in their respective fields of study, and several have been designated as U.S. Department of Education National Resource Centers. Students have the unique option of pursuing either a regional or thematic track with multiple specializations anchored in one of their centers or programs.


The application for Fall 2023 is open with a deadline to apply by December 15, 2022. The online application form and a complete list of materials can be found here

U-M Graduates Now Eligible for "High Potential Individual" (HPI) UK Visa

U-M graduates are now eligible for a United Kingdom (UK) work visa, the High Potential Individual (HPI) visa. This visa aims to recruit skilled young workers from top universities across the world to elevate Britain’s workforce.


The HPI visa policy states that any person who graduated from a list of top eligible universities within the past five years is able to receive this visa to reside in the UK for two years. Those with doctoral qualifications are eligible to reside for three years. 


A job offer in the UK is not required to apply for the visa and those applying for the visa are allowed to bring dependents along with them. For more information about the HPI visa, visit the UK Government's website here and read this Michigan Daily article.

Professional Opportunities

Position Available: International Institute and Donia Human Rights Center Program Coordinator/Administrative Assistant Intermediate

Application Deadline: Wednesday, November 23

Brief Description: The International Institute and Donia Human Rights Center are hiring a Program Coordinator/Administrative Assistant Intermediate to help them coordinate the Wallenberg Medal and Lecture. This is a part-time position. Click here to learn more and apply.

Call for Papers - Conference on Race and the Borderlands at San Diego State University

Application Deadline: Thursday, December 1

Brief Description: This conference brings together scholars, practitioners, student organizations, and grassroots movements from the San Diego and Tijuana regions to collectively consider issues of human rights and racialization in our borderlands. The conference will focus on the human tolls and triumphs that flow across this border every day and will consider the hindrances and costs, the lives and human sacrifice, and the stories of hope and justice that intermingle in the liminal space of the borderlands. Click here to learn more and apply.

Position Available: International Rescue Committee Economic Empowerment Manager - Denver, CO

Application Deadline: N/A

Brief Description: The IRC in Denver assists newly arrived refugees and similar populations to foster the best possible initial resettlement experience, advance client self-sufficiency, and promote community integration. Using a trauma-informed, client-centered approach that empowers clients, the Economic Empowerment Manager guides a team that strives to assist clients in meeting their immediate needs for financial stability while ensuring that near-term demands do not overshadow longer-term economic wellbeing. Click here to learn more and apply.

Grant Opportunities

U-M Sustainable Food Program Student Food Empowerment Fund (Click here to apply)

Next Application Deadlines: Tuesday, December 13

Brief Description: The U-M Sustainable Food Program Student Food Empowerment Fund is now accepting applications. This fund is open to registered student organizations at U-M Ann Arbor and aims to bring communities closer to food sovereignty. There are two main funding options:


  1. Cultural Food Fund: For student organizations seeking to purchase cultural food for an event. Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) led student organizations hosting social justice related events are encouraged to apply. Applicants can request up to $600 of funding per event.
  2. Project Fund: For funding more extensive food sovereignty projects or obtaining support from UMSFP beyond finances (e.g. marketing, planning, project development, etc.). Applicants can request up to $1000 of funding per project.


If you have any questions, email avpai@umich.edu.

OGA Global Independent Study Grant (Click here to learn more)

Application Deadline: January 15, 2023

Brief Description: A Global Independent Study (GIS) offers students the ability to design a global social work opportunity in a foreign country while earning 1-6 elective credits. Students from all pathways and curriculum tracks are eligible to apply, and grant recipients will receive up to $2,500 to help cover the cost of their experience. Projects are student-initiated and might include service learning, research, or other activities. Students must find a clinical-track or tenure-track faculty member to serve as the faculty instructor who will provide academic guidance as well as grade the course.


Click here for to view the recording of the GIS Information Session and here to access the GIS Advising Calendar. OGA staff will also be hosting drop-in advising sessions at the SSW Building, room 3668D from 12:00 - 2:00 PM on the following dates:


  • Monday, November 14
  • Wednesday, January 4
  • Monday, January 9
Resources

U-M Considerations for International Travel

To find previous OGA Newsletter volumes, click the OGA Newsletter Archive.
Email ssw.oga@umich.edu if you have any questions.