Students from 21 member universities across the Universitas 21 (U21) network will be going global in June and July 2017 to participate in a diverse range of activities at the Universities of Edinburgh and Johannesburg and off-site in Ecuador.

On 26 – 30 June, the University of Edinburgh will host 73 students from 21 member institutions for the annual U21 Undergraduate Research Conference (URC). The conference will be run in collaboration with the University’s ‘Global Academies’ programme which tackles global environmental challenges through teaching, research and outreach. Through the theme ‘Future Societies, Global Citizens’ students will consider the global challenges facing future societies and discuss how today’s internationally-minded students can become global citizens. During the conference students will have the opportunity to share their research on a diverse multi-disciplinary range of topics through the medium of poster, presentation, or pecha kucha (concise form of presentation). The academic programme will be complemented by extracurricular events to explore Scotland’s political and cultural heritage, from tours of Edinburgh Castle and the Scottish Parliament, to a traditional Ceilidh dance.

Students from University College Dublin, the University of Edinburgh, Tec de Monterrey and the National University of Singapore will also be going global this month, travelling to South Africa to participate in the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Summer School, ‘Fabricating Design Spaces’ from 26 June – 14 July. As part of the course, students will work with the Department of Jewellery Design at UJ in collaboration with leading South African Fashion Designer, David Tlale, and emerging new talent Mariambibi Khan. Students will be introduced to basic metal smithing techniques in the first week of the course, the design and manufacture of metal embellishments for clothing during the second week of the course, and at the end of the three-week course, they will have an opportunity to exhibit their creations.

Students from the Universities of Melbourne, Queensland, Birmingham, Edinburgh and the National University of Singapore will travel to Ecuador to take part in the Social Entrepreneur Corps (SEC) from 25 June – 21 July, a programme administered on behalf of U21 by the University of Connecticut. In Ecuador, they will work directly with SEC field professionals and social entrepreneurs in rural locations to establish new, and grow existing micro-consignment supported businesses. They will live with local families, study Spanish, and work with local community service organisations and businesses.

U21 Provost, Professor Bairbre Redmond, said: “The U21 Undergraduate Research Conference, Summer School, and Social Entrepreneur Corps are all valuable learning, cultural, and experiential opportunities for our undergraduate students. These events give U21 students the unique occasion to come together and share their work and become involved in challenging and creative projects with other students from some of the best universities in the world. I hope that the attendees in all three events have a wonderful and valuable experience at these activities and I particularly thank the Universities of Edinburgh, Johannesburg and Connecticut for their hard work in planning and hosting this year’s events.”

 

Get Involved!

You can join in, comment or follow U21’s #GlobalMobility events via the Twitter hashtag and via @U21News, or for details on each event, please see the below:

U21 Undergraduate Research Conference @EdinburghUni

#U21URC

U21 Summer School @MediaUJ

#SummerSchool #U21atUJ

Social Entrepreneur Corps

#EcuadorSEC

For details on U21’s student activities and how you can get involved, please HERE

The Ronald McDonald Institute and Abrace opened today the new Espaço da Família Ronald McDonald in Hospital Da Criança De Brasília José Alencar. Now children and teenagers undergoing cancer treatment along with their families can count on the comfort and coziness environment inside the medical unit.

The New space has a brand new playroom, TV, accessible washrooms and several other amenities intended to make the waiting time between appointments and procedures a better experience. Together with that, the space provides a coser contact with the medical team, located right next to the paediatric unit.

Open Call for NGOs to apply for Consultative Status with the United Nations (Deadline: 1 June 2017)

May is the last month for Non-Governmental Organizations to apply for consultative status with ECOSOC if they wish to be considered by the NGO Committee in 2018. Those interested should submit their application and required documents on or before the deadline of 1 June 2017.

NGOs interested in applying for ECOSOC consultative status should submit their application and required documents on or before the deadline of 1 June 2017. The following link provides background information, the benefits of consultative status and instructions for how to apply:

http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=337&type=230&menu=14