Illinois International News

Illinois International News is a collection of globally-focused blogs and stories from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Global Education and Training (GET) prepares today’s global workforce through our executive training programs, professional capacity-building programs, and specialized projects. Participants in GET-hosted programs learn about current trends, practices, and techniques in the United States and today’s global market, gaining competitive advantages over their peers.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is among the top producers of recipients for the Gilman International Scholarship Program, which provides merit-based scholarships to outstanding American undergraduate students with high financial need to pursue credit-bearing academic studies and career-oriented internships abroad. The scholarship opportunities equip Gilman Scholars with international experience, global networks and foreign language skills essential to advancing U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.

The University of Illinois System and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) have issued a joint call for proposals for a seed funding research program for the 2026–2027 academic year. The program will fund projects in four thematic areas: Food, Health, Water, and Energy. The overarching goal is to contribute towards solving problems related to poverty, the environment, and sustainable well-being.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been named one of five U.S. institutions to receive the 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, a national distinction recognizing excellence in embedding global engagement across teaching, research, and public engagement.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been named one of five U.S. institutions to receive the 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, a national distinction recognizing excellence in embedding global engagement across teaching, research, and public engagement. Named after the late Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, the awards celebrate outstanding commitment and accomplishment in campus internationalization.

Institutions selected for the Simon Awards will be featured in NAFSA's annual report Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, to be published this fall, and honored during NAFSA’s 2026 Annual Conference & Expo this spring. To learn more about NAFSA’s Senator Paul Simon Awards, visit nafsa.org/SimonAward.

US-UK university partnership explores fresh opportunities in Education Access and Equity – including recruiting second cohort of Global South Fellows.

Colleen Murphy, Ph.D., is the Interim Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Global Affairs & Strategies Designate, a Provost Fellow in the Office of the Provost, and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Roger & Stephany Joslin Professor of Law in the College of Law. In this short interview, Dr. Murphy shares her reflections and vision regarding Illinois International's current opportunities to support global engagement at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The University of Illinois System and the Illinois Mexican & Mexican American Students Initiative (I-MMÁS) program will be hosting two online symposiums on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29.

The call for proposals is now open for the BRIDGE Seed Fund, which provides funding to advance the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s research and engagement missions in collaboration with the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Francisco Javier Ramírez Treviño, a full-time professor and researcher (Professor-Researcher Titular A) at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM-A) in Mexico, was the inaugural chairholder and taught at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) during the fall 2025 semester.

Students from around the world gathered online for the fifth annual Reimagine Our Future sustainability competition, an international initiative co-founded at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and now drawing growing participation through global partnerships.

International Student and Scholar Services will host their annual awards ceremony on Dec. 3 to honor the remarkable dedication, exceptional service, and significant contributions made by campus and community members in support of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s international population.