The International Division is one of the places on campus that continues to buzz during the summer months, and this year has been no exception. We had more than 800 students participating in summer study abroad, study away, and international internship programs. The International Academic Programs staff stayed busy supporting these students and instructors, while also holding standing-room-only sessions for freshmen and their families at SOAR. I hope many of these new students will decide to participate in one of our programs and become proud Global Badgers.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting students who will be spending their freshman year on the UW Global Launch in London program. With the generous support of Chris and Suzy (Oldorf) DeWolf, students on this program receive a scholarship so that the cost of attendance is comparable to studying in Madison. I plan to visit these students in December, so stay tuned!
We’ve also been busy for the past two months with the Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI). The program was a great success, with more than 200 students studying languages from Arabic to Urdu. The importance of learning a less commonly taught language, such as those offered through WISLI, is recognized by our partners and students alike. For example, the Language Program Office, where WISLI is based, hosted a productive site visit in July for representatives from the Defense Language and National Security Education Office and the Institute of International Education, which support Boren Awards and Language Flagship programs in Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese. WISLI students themselves also praise the quality of the coursework and the community created through the eight weeks of learning together. When asked about his favorite part of WISLI, one student responded, “Connecting with other students who are curious to learn, especially those…with a similar research focus. This alone has fostered a sense of community, let alone sharing in the experience of learning a language with everybody.”
As someone who spent a summer in Tanzania on an intensive Swahili program, I can attest to the academic and social benefits of an immersive experience with those who share one’s interest in a particular country or region of the world. Learning Swahili, a widely spoken but less commonly taught language in the U.S., has been essential for my research, teaching, and community engagement in East Africa. May all who participated in one of our UW–Madison programs this summer carry this valuable experience with them for many years to come.