Rutgers University was honored to welcome a distinguished delegation of senior leaders from O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), one of India's top private universities, to the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus on July 22. Led by Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, President & Vice Chancellor, and founder of JGU, the group discussed potential collaborations including student and faculty exchanges and dual degree programs. A diverse group of faculty and staff from across Rutgers joined the meeting, including deans and senior faculty from the Rutgers Law School, Rutgers Business School, the School of Engineering, the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, the School of Social Work, and the Bloustein School, as well as key members of enrollment management, and Rutgers Global.

This September, Freie Universität Berlin will mark a major milestone: the 20th anniversary of its renowned FU-BEST (Freie Universität Berlin European Studies) program. Over the past two decades, FU-BEST has grown into one of Europe’s most respected English-language study abroad programs, offering students from across the globe—including many from Rutgers University—a life-changing academic and cultural experience in the heart of Berlin. Rutgers Global Study Abroad has proudly partnered with FU-BEST for over a decade, sending students to Berlin in the fall and spring since at least 2008. The program remains a student favorite, drawing those interested in European studies, language immersion, and cultural exploration.

Rahul Mittal, assistant professor in the Department of Health Informatics at Rutgers School of Health Professions, is harnessing the power of international collaboration to support health and social care in underserved communities abroad. Awarded a 2024 Rutgers Global Grant for International Collaborative Research, Dr. Mittal is leading a project in Cornwall, United Kingdom, titled “Taxonomy of the Voluntary Sector in Cornwall.” 

Rutgers University was proud to participate in the Climate Corps Summer School 2025 program hosted by Korea University (KU) this summer, bringing together students and scholars from around the world to address the global climate crisis through innovation, education, and partnership. Three students from Rutgers attended the program: Audree Gousse, Eva Brozovsky, and Alex Varela Reyes. In addition, two Rutgers faculty members attended, Ahmed Aziz Ezzat, Assistant Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, and Victoria Ramenzoni, Associate Professor in Marine Policy and Social Sciences. 

Thierno Moustapha Diallo, a Fulbright Rutgers Health student originally from Guinea, received his Master of Public Health (MPH) in Global Public Health from the Rutgers School of Public Health in the spring and was granted the 2025 Stanley S. Bergen Medal of Excellence Award, the school’s highest student honor. As the Bergen awardee, he also delivered the graduate keynote address at the school’s 2025 Convocation ceremony. Additionally, Diallo was also the recipient of the 2025 Bernard D. Goldstein Award for Global Public Health, which recognizes exceptional academic achievement among masters-level Rutgers School of Public Health students in their concentration. 

Students, faculty, and staff from the Rutgers School of Public Health recently returned from a deeply enriching study abroad experience in Manizales, Colombia. The experience provided students with an immersive opportunity to directly engage with community-based organizations, public health agencies, researchers, educators, and community leaders dedicated to addressing health inequities in Latin American communities. Led by Rafael E. Pérez-Figueroa, Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Population Health, and Public Health Service and associate professor in Rutgers School of Public Health’s Department of Urban-Global Public Health, the study abroad course was hosted in collaboration with the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales (UAM).

As part of Rutgers University’s growing Korea–US engagement strategy in the biomedical and health sciences, Rutgers Global and Rutgers Health co-hosted a Symposium on Korea–US R&D Collaborations and Funding Opportunities on Thursday, June 19, at Richard Weeks Hall on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus. The symposium was the culmination of several collaborative events between Rutgers and K-BioX, a global bio-health innovation platform that connects Korean and international institutions to advance research partnerships.

The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced that Karen Wei-Ru Lin, M.D., of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has received a Fulbright Specialist Program award. Dr. Lin will complete a project at Kobe University in Japan that aims to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities both in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within Public/Global Health. 

A record 20 students across Rutgers University have been awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which empowers students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, fostering mutual understanding between the United States and other countries. 

This milestone highlights Rutgers’ growing commitment to global education and access for all students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in study abroad programs.

When Illia Kholiavin fled his war-torn Ukrainian hometown of Mariupol in 2022, he left behind the only life he’d ever known. After relocating first to Poland and then Sparta, N.J., with his mother and grandmother, he committed himself to learning English and finishing school. “What we experienced was brutal. It changed something in us,” he said. “You really understand that life is not infinite. You need to do something in your life before it ends.” On May 16, Kholiavin was inducted into Rutgers University’s prestigious Matthew Leydt Society along with 234 of his peers who ranked in the top 2% of Rutgers University-New Brunswick's and Rutgers Health's graduating Class of 2025.

Cuba may not be a Spring Break hotspot—particularly given that Americans are prohibited from visiting the island solely for tourism. But for a group of Rutgers Law School students, Cuba turned out to be a truly unique and educational Spring Break destination, made possible through a travel course designed to expose students to Cuban law, history, and society through firsthand encounters with local attorneys, activists, students, and community members. The course is taught each year by Rutgers Law Clinical Professor Charles Auffant. Check out this video with highlights from the trip.