Your July 2021 edition Radboud and Western sign partnership agreementRadboud University, The Netherlands, and Western University made a new partnership official with the signing of the Radboud-Western Collaboration Fund agreement during a meeting held virtually on June 22. With the goal of increasing collaboration between Radboud and Western, the Collaboration Fund will facilitate and support joint initiatives that will strengthen the universities’ strategic priorities through innovative education, as well as multi-disciplinary cutting-edge research, with the goal to create academic and societal impact. Attendees representing Radboud and Western (pictured above from left: Rob van Leeuwen, Acting Head International Mobility & Coordinator Partnerships, Radboud University; Lise Laporte, Senior Director, Western International; Britta Baron, Vice- Provost (International), Western University; Rector Magificus Han van Krieken, Radboud University; Alan Shepard, President, Western University; and Elco van Noort, Internationalisation Coordinator, Radboud University) came together to witness President Shepard and Rector van Krieken sign the agreement between the two institutions. Western professor receives prestigious international award Ashraf El Damatty, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Research Director of the WindEEE Research Institute recently received the Changjiang Scholar Award - the highest academic award offered by the Ministry of Education in China. Nominated for the award by Sichuan University, one of his international collaborators, El Damatty's research collaborations in China began in 2012 and continue to progress. "It is a great honour to be a recipient of this prestigious award. International collaboration has always been one of my areas of focus, as I believe that the sharing of knowledge plays a fundamental role in the advancement of science," said El Damatty. "Over the years, I have been fortunate to develop strong research partnerships in countries around the world, including China, Egypt, UK, Italy, Cuba and Brazil. This has brought tremendous diversity to my team of researchers. My research focus is on protecting buildings and infrastructure against natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes; the aim is to benefit communities worldwide by saving lives and assets. Western’s research strength and global reputation in this field, along with its unique research facilities, has opened the doors for collaboration with the strongest international research groups." Reminder: 2022 AIEA Annual Conference - call for proposals The Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) invites the submission of proposals for its February 2022 virtual conference. The theme of the conference is "Why the Internationalization of Higher Education Still Matters." Details on submission requirements can be found on the conference website. Deadline for submissions is August 15, 2021. Germany & Canada - Celebrating 50 Years of Scientific and Technological Cooperation In recognition of this milestone 50-year anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on Scientific-Technological Cooperation between Germany and Canada created on 30 June 1971, Germany's ITB infoservice has issued a special edition of its newsletter. Read Germany & Canada - Celebrating 50 Years of Scientific and Technological Cooperation. International travel requirements and quarantine updates We are beginning to see announcements about fewer restrictions related to travel and quarantine. Although we expect to see more shifts to current restrictions in the coming weeks, at this time all students coming to Western from abroad for the fall term must still complete a 14-day quarantine period AND register their travel and quarantine plan with us before they travel. We will continue to provide updates to students via email and update our International Arrival website with the new requirements as they are finalized. Students with questions are encouraged to contact our International Student Advisors for support. COVID-19 vaccination clinic for francophones The Accès Franco-Santé London (French Health Hub), in cooperation with the Middlesex-London Health Unit, is holding a vaccination clinic for francophones on July 29, 2021. First and second doses of the vaccine will be available to all eligible people (older than 12 and minimum of 28 days between both doses). Anyone who uses the French language is welcome to attend. Did you know?In June, Western International and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies held the first in a series of five webinars that explore different models of collaboration, various funding models and a range of possible partner regions/countries. The Internationally Collaborative Doctoral Programs Webinar highlighted International Research Training Groups, a model developed in Germany, which aims to bring together teams of PhD students and supervisors from two or more institutions, often from interdisciplinary backgrounds, whose projects share a common focus. Find resources and the recording on our website. If you have ideas, suggestions or opportunities with an international focus to share, please let us know at wicomms@uwo.ca. |