The International Partnerships and Programs office awarded six Global Catalyst Research Partnership Grants to faculty across campus in December 2024. These grants will contribute not only to faculty research initiatives but help grow the University of Vermont’s connections across array of partner institutions and their faculty. These partner institutions stretch across the world to include Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Vietnam, and Zambia.

The awarding office, International Partnerships and Programs, established in 2023, advances the university’s international strategic directions to enable the comprehensive internationalization of the campus. “Fostering research connections is certainly an important dimension of this internationalization,” according to Jamie McGowan, executive director of the office. “UVM faculty are well-placed to cultivate international research partnerships, and we find that faculty who do collaborate internationally tend to tap into opportunities that leverage unique expertise, field sites, data, and/or equipment, for instance, and they build important research relationships that can meaningfully catalyze their work,” she continues. Building mutually beneficial research relationships can also enable broader impacts on the university – from recruiting international students; enabling faculty, staff and student mobility; accessing international grant opportunities and the like.

This year’s Global Catalyst Research Partnership Awards went to the following principal investigators:

Eric Bishop-von Wettberg, Plant and Soil Science, Vietnam-US collaboration in plant biodiversity conservation

Katherine Creutzinger, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Integrating GPS and Bluetooth technology for cow-calf contact research: an international interdisciplinary collaboration

Kelsey Gleason, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Land Use Change and Early Childhood Health Outcomes: A Brazil Case Study

Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Computer Science, Vermont-Ireland Rural \& Temporal Inference Group (VIRTIGo)

Benjamin Lee, Pediatrics, The Zamont Project: A Zambia-Vermont Global Health Research Initiative

Rory Waterman, Chemistry, Development of a Collaboration Between the University of Vermont and the University of Rennes

Beyond these international research partnerships, the International Partnerships and Programs office is also working on a few other partnership opportunities.  A couple of these opportunities include extending a relationship from a study abroad connection with a university in Korea, where we are exploring focused research opportunities for UVM faculty at that institution. Another opportunity, in collaboration with the Graduate College, seeks to develop global partnerships that support curricular pathways to graduate school at the University of Vermont. If you are interested in exploring international partnerships, reach out to Jamie McGowan about your ideas and interests.

February 6, 2025

Join this session to learn more about applying for a faculty Fulbright Fellowship. A faculty panel comprised of several UVM faculty and presenters from International Partnerships and Programs as well as Research Development will highlight opportunities for pursuing a Fulbright. To join, contact Jamie McGowan for the Teams link.   

November 18-22, 2024

During this week, we host events, workshops, and discussions that promote the value of studying abroad, building international partnerships, and embracing diverse perspectives. By participating, students can expand their horizons, enhance their educational experience, and prepare for a global workforce.

During the 2023-24 academic year, six faculty members and staff, along with three recent alumni from the University of Vermont, received Fulbright grants. 

UVM Fulbright Awardees Forge Connections Around the World