Dear UMBC faculty:

We are thrilled to announce the UMBC Global Learning Lab, a joint initiative of the Office of the Provost and the Center for Global Engagement (CGE) that aims to develop a faculty learning community dedicated to increasing student access to global learning opportunities. The Global Learning Lab is a cohort-style, semester-long, program that provides a framework for faculty to exchange best practices and innovative models for expanding access to global learning opportunities over a series of four workshops. This program is made possible with funding from the Office of the Provost. 

All full time faculty—tenured/tenure-track, non tenure-track— and adjuncts (minimum of six semesters at UMBC) are invited to apply for the Spring 2025 cohort. Faculty accepted into the Lab must commit to attending each of the workshops below and producing one project to present at the conclusion of the lab. Faculty will receive a $1,500 professional development stipend to support their intended project. The funds will be transferred to the fellow's home department upon successful completion of the Spring 2025 Global Learning Lab.  Applicants must discuss their intended project with their department chairs prior to applying. 

Workshop #1 - Friday, February 16 from 10 AM - 1 PM
Internationalization of the Curriculum Through Curricular Mapping will focus on identifying the ideal term(s), course(s), location(s)/partner(s) for students to participate in a global learning experience.

Workshop #2 - Friday, March 7 from 10 AM - 1 PM 
Developing a Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program will focus on building a study abroad program using best practices to support student learning and the development of skills, attitudes, and experiences that promote global and cultural competency.

Workshop #3  Friday, March 28 from 10 AM - 1 PM
Global Learning for All: Virtual Exchange on how to foster opportunities to develop cultural and global competencies in an existing course through virtual exchanges known as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

Workshop #4- Friday, May 2 from 10 AM - 1 PM
Global Learning Lab Project Presentations will provide an opportunity for faculty in the lab to present their global learning project (i.e. curricular mapping for their department, faculty-led study abroad program proposal, or COIL course). 

Important
The ideal faculty cohort will represent the diversity of UMBC programs and a diversity of intended projects. As such, if more than one faculty from a specific department is applying, they are encouraged to speak with their colleagues to ensure their intended projects are complementary (i.e. one faculty member may propose to work on a virtual exchange/COIL and another will work on proposing a faculty-led study abroad program).

The deadline to apply for the Spring 2025 cohort is 11:59 p.m. on December 21, 2024. Faculty will be notified about the status of their application by January 21, 2025. Please note that in-person attendance at each workshop is required. All applicants should save these workshop dates now. 

Questions? Contact Katie Heird at kheird1@umbc.edu at the Center for Global Engagement. 

Sincerely,

Ana Oskoz, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

David Di Maria, Associate Vice Provost for International Education