Two GOHA Affiliate Members Awarded Funding for Advancing Global Learning at Home

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 joint activities for NC State students and 15 French graduate students from Université Côte d’Azur visiting through an ERASMUS+ mobility grant. Funds cover logistical expenses including a trip to Historic Stagville and an NC State baseball game, where students from both institutions engage together around sustainability themes.

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)

Takes 40 NC State students on half-day site visits to agricultural enterprises in Raleigh and RTP with global footprints, including NCDA, Syngenta, Bayer, and community farms growing indigenous crops, helping students understand how global agriculture shapes local communities.

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

Connects approximately 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 five UPRM faculty and Extension staff to campus for in-class engagement 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 two international ecohydrologists from Germany and Canada to campus for guest lectures and hands-on methods workshops, giving students in the Watershed Hydrology course 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.

This post was originally published in Office of Global Engagement.