The Office of Global Engagement is pleased to announce eight faculty and staff projects funded through our inaugural Advancing Global Learning at Home program, which supports innovative campus-based initiatives that bring international perspectives and global skills development to NC State students.

Seth Murray (CHASS – Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences) — Building Cultural Competencies through Global Learning for All

Supports an in-person component of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course for NC State and Université Côte d’Azur (UniCA) students. Funds will enable students from both institutions to engage around sustainability themes when a cohort of UniCA graduate students visit NC State through an ERASMUS+ mobility program.

Florian Laggner (COE – Nuclear Engineering) — Augmented Reality Lab for Global Fusion Research

Gives graduate students in plasma physics hands-on experience with VR technology to visualize complex phenomena, practice simulated maintenance tasks at international fusion facilities like ITER, and collaborate remotely with partner facilities in the Czech Republic and Spain.

Elizabeth Saylor (CHASS – World Languages and Cultures) — International Deaf Communities and Education: Building a Global Sign Language Learning Community at NC State

Brings a four-part lecture series on the global impacts of language deprivation to over 300 NC State students, featuring experts from the U.S., Morocco, and Mexico while developing curriculum for an accessible study abroad program in Morocco.

Adrienne Tucker (CALS International Programs) — SCIENC Fellow Program (Students Connecting with International Enterprises in NC)

Supports a new fellowship program that enables NC State students to explore how global agriculture shapes local communities. 40 NC State students will participate in this pilot program and gain firsthand understanding of a globalized agriculture system through connections with local government, industry, farms, and non-profits that work on an international scale. Local site visits will include agricultural enterprises in Raleigh and RTP with global footprints, such as NCDA, Syngenta, Bayer, and community farms growing indigenous crops.

Megan Lupek (CNR – Forestry and Environmental Resources) — Global Urban Sustainability through Citizen Science and Collaboration

Connects 80+ NC State students with peers at Université Côte d’Azur through a COIL module and Urban Accessibility Hack-a-thon, where they compare urban sustainability data between Raleigh and Nice using citizen science platforms.

Maru Gonzalez (CALS – Agricultural and Human Sciences) — Intercambio: Advancing Global Learning and Institutional Collaboration between NC State and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez

Brings UPRM faculty and Extension staff to campus for in-class engagements with NC State students, including the Honors course “Puerto Rico After Maria,” while building a foundation for sustained institutional collaboration.

Matthias Sprenger (CNR – Forestry and Environmental Resources) — Global Ecohydrology at Home: Connecting Students to Forest–Water Relationships Worldwide

Brings international ecohydrologists from Germany and Canada to campus for guest lectures and hands-on methods workshops, giving NC State students in Watershed Hydrology courses firsthand exposure to global perspectives on forest-water relationships and a virtual reality tropical forest experience.

Hanna Lee (Wilson College of Textiles – Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management) — Global Consumer Insight Studio: Insight, Adaptation, and Reflection in Fashion Consumer Learning

Pairs approximately 70 undergraduate students with international students on campus to conduct cross-cultural consumer interviews, analyze global marketing cues, and develop culturally adapted market entry strategies, culminating in a public showcase at the College of Textiles.