"Overall, this visit not only strengthens the relationship between the two institutions but informs the implementation of the university’s broader international strategy and broadens the global engagement network for participating units and departments."
Champaign, Ill. — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) will be renewing its international partnership agreement with the University of Birmingham (UoB) on May 16.
The signing ceremony is part of a two-day visit with UoB colleagues, which starts on May 15.
In addition to the signing ceremony, the 14-member delegation from UoB will be visiting UIUC to deliver three guest lectures, present research findings, tour the campus facilities, and meet with administrators and faculty to discuss current and potential collaboration opportunities across disciplines in the sciences, education, and business.
The visiting delegation includes:
- Vice Chancellor Adam Tickell
- Professor Robin Mason, Pro-Vice-Chancellor International
- Catherine Lemon, International Development Manager Birmingham Global
- Professor Jon Frampton, Deputy-Pro-Vice-Chancellor China and Professor Stem Cell Biology
- Professor David Hannah, Director of the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action
- Dr Meng Tian, School of Education Global Engagement and Internationalisation Lead
- Professor Francis Pope, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences
- Professor Aleksandra Cavoski, Director of Global Engagement College of Arts and Law
- Professor Tim Albrecht, Director of Global Engagement College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
- Andréa Edwards, Director of International Development and Mobility
- Paul Lewis – Business School, Department of Management
- Clare Davies – Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
- Pat Lalor – Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy
- Jennifer Cook – School of Psychology
Professors David Hannah, Francis Pope, and Aleksandra Covski will be among those delivering guest lectures.
Hannah will be giving the first lecture at 10:05 a.m. on May 15, Pope will be giving the second lecture at 9:15 a.m. on May 16, and Covski will be giving the third lecture with other colleagues at 11:20 a.m. on May 16.
Overall, this visit not only strengthens the relationship between the two institutions but informs the implementation of the university’s broader international strategy and broadens the global engagement network for participating units and departments.
UoB has been a strategic partner of UIUC for many years and is a co-contributor to the BRIDGE Seed Fund, which provides grants for faculty and researchers.
BRIDGE, which stands for the BiRmingham-lllinois Partnership for Discovery, EnGagement and Education, is the framework for continued collaboration and investment between the two institutions.
Engagement currently spans more than 70 established faculty-to-faculty links in key academic disciplines.
BRIDGE Seed Funding is available in three grant categories: implementation, initiation, and teaching and learning. Implementation Grants support and strengthen existing faculty-faculty relationships leading to clearly defined outputs. Initiation Grants encourage wider faculty involvement and expand institutional engagement. Teaching and Learning Grants allow faculty to develop educational relationships with counterparts at UoB/Illinois to enhance student learning.
Thirteen UIUC faculty members were selected for the 2022-2023 funding. Learn more about BRIDGE Seed Funding at: https://international.illinois.edu/services-units/global-relations/bridge.html.
Analicia Haynes is the storyteller and social media specialist for Illinois International. She can be reached at ahayn2@illinois.edu.
