UT Faculty Awarded Global Career Launch Grants to Lead Internships Abroad
- Feb 1, 2021
- Jenan Taha
Texas Global has awarded Global Career Launch grants to support the design of four faculty-driven student internships abroad. The faculty awardees will examine sustainable development in Brazil’s river basins, compose an orchestra with Butler School of Music alumni and trombonists in Switzerland, investigate sustainable material development and designs in Denmark, and explore culture and society in Jerusalem.
Texas Global introduced the Global Career Launch initiative in early 2020 to expand upon long-standing UT faculty connections with international peers and offer UT students an opportunity to engage in high-impact internships and research alongside these faculty to gain hands-on, transcontinental research and career experience. The program aims to strategically increase the number of international internships by supporting participants with funding, advising and sustained engagement. Faculty awardees receive a travel grant and stipend to oversee cohorts of up to 10 students with both in-person and virtual internships. Students receive a grant of $4,000 to support their experience abroad.
“The Texas Global Career Launch initiative leverages UT Austin’s institutional, corporate, and alumni connections around the world to provide internship opportunities for our students,” said Sonia Feigenbaum, senior vice provost for global engagement and chief international officer. “This comprehensive and innovative global internship framework deepens faculty transnational collaborations while giving students the chance to gain tangible skills, cross-cultural experience and professional development that will enhance their competitiveness in a global workplace."
2020 Grant Recipients and Projects
David Eaton
Bess Harris Jones Centennial Professor, Natural Resource Policy Studies
LBJ School of Public Affairs
(Portal Commerce & Logistics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
David Eaton's research focuses on sustainable development in international river basins, evaluation of energy and water conservation programs and prevention of pollution. For Global Career Launch, Eaton and his colleague, associate professor Orlando Kelm, will build upon their partnership with Portal Commerce & Logistics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to provide undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to work on projects in Marica and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These projects will focus on collaborative research and service projects covering entrepreneurship, regional economic development and business.
Orlando Kelm
Associate Professor of Hispanic Linguistics, Director of the Portuguese Flagship Program
College of Liberal Arts
(Portal Commerce & Logistics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Orlando Kelm’s work explores the creation of instructional materials, including the use of innovative technologies in foreign language instruction. With his grant, Kelm and co-faculty David Eaton will collaborate with Portal Commerce & Logistics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to provide undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to work on projects in Marica and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These projects will focus on collaborative research and service learning, covering entrepreneurship, regional economic development and business.
Nathaniel Brickens
Professor of Trombone, Director of UT Trombone Choir
Butler School of Music
(Zurich Orchestra and Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich, Switzerland)
Nathaniel Brickens is the director of the internationally acclaimed UT Trombone Choir. For Global Career Launch, Brickens will partner with two UT alumni in Zurich, Switzerland: David Garcia, a trombonist in the Zurich Orchestra, and Bill Thomas, a trombonist in Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. Students will receive mentorship and coaching from trombonists of these historic orchestras and will also attend auditions and performances. At the completion of the internship, students will present a trombone octet concert at a Zurich venue.
Jessica Ciarla
Assistant Professor, Division of Textiles and Apparel
College of Natural Sciences
(Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, Copenhagen, Denmark)
Jessica Ciarla is a fashion designer with over fourteen years of experience in the fashion industry. Her research emphasizes sustainable product design and material development. With the program, Jessica Ciarla will deepen her partnership with the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology in Denmark and give students the opportunity to work with faculty and designers in Copenhagen to investigate sustainable material development and design methods for the fashion industry.
Amelia Weinreb
Senior Lecturer, Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies
College of Liberal Arts
(Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
Amelia Weinreb is a cultural anthropologist with research interests in Latin America and Israel. Expanding upon her work with Reut Barak-Weekes, the Academic Head of the Glocal International Development Program at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Weinreb will create research internships for undergraduate and graduate students interested in community development. UT students will assist Hebrew University affiliates on projects examining culture and daily life, urban planning and design, local organizations and social movements, tourists and pilgrims, and business and the economy.
Congratulations to the second cohort of Global Career Launch faculty awardees. Previous recipients include Cockrell School of Engineering professor Benny Freeman, College of Education professor Hirofumi Tanaka and LBJ School of Public Affairs professor David Eaton.
The next deadline for applications to this program is April 15, 2021. Information will be available here on 2/15/2021. In the meantime, should you have any questions, please contact Heather Thompson, Director-Education Abroad.
Learn more about Global Career Launch
