Global Alumni
Nebraska alumni and friends are making their mark around the world, and we are growing our international alumni contacts and groups to better serve these graduates.
Your support can make a world of difference.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln brings together the best and brightest from around the world to work on interdisciplinary solutions as a transformative, world-leading, 21st century, land-grant university without walls.
We are proud to be the home of more than 2,000 international students and scholars, to bring the world to students through experiential learning opportunities in over 45 countries, and to support global partnerships that enable faculty and staff to tackle grand challenges. Yet in today’s interconnected world, global education continues to be affected by challenges like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rising costs for study abroad, natural disasters, ongoing regional conflicts and more.
It is the mission of Global Nebraska to break down these barriers, support our international students during their time as Huskers and continue to empower innovative, global learning and research opportunities for all.
When you give to Global Nebraska, you support this mission and more.
Your gift to Global Nebraska will help...
Provide funding and scholarships for international students.
A senior studying biological sciences, Joevy Sum was excited to complete her research thesis on the effects climate change may have on insects. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to finish strong while being away from her family in Malaysia and facing additional financial burden – especially when international students had no access to federal financial aid for COVID relief.
In January 2021, Joevy became the first awardee of the Ngaruiya Family Fund for Undergraduate Research, created by alumnae Katherine and Christine Ngaruiya to support undergraduate mentorship and research in STEM fields. Thanks to the award, Joevy was able to complete her senior year and continue her journey as a promising conservationist.
“I’m extremely grateful to be the first recipient of the Ngaruiya Family Fund at UNL. Their generosity enabled me to continue doing research during these hectic times and I am honored to represent their virtues of the international student narrative.” – Joevy Sum '21
Create new global experiential learning opportunities.
When the university suspended study abroad in summer 2021 due to the pandemic, Education Abroad created the Global Experiences Innovation Fund to enable student learning and interactions with other cultures through virtual and global-local experiential learning.
One of these courses, Global Startup Communities: Examination of Entrepreneurship in Rwanda and the U.S., leveraged partnerships in Rwanda to enable students from African Leadership University and Nebraska to learn about each other’s culture and entrepreneurship. In addition to virtual meetings with ALU students, the course had two Rwandan teaching assistants currently at UNL who shared more about their community and customs. The class celebrated the end of the program with a community concert by Live Lyfe Band, a student group made up of Rwandan students at Nebraska.
"Through videos, movies, personal stories and demonstrations, the students were all able to 'visit' Rwanda in a meaningful way. This course was beneficial for students from any country who wanted a global immersion experience." – Mikki Sandin, international business and inclusion coordinator
Build global partnerships around the world.
Since 2013, assistant professor and respiratory disease virologist Hiep Vu has worked to develop a broad protection vaccine for porcine reproductive and respiratory virus (PRSSV) – which costs the U.S. swine industry more than $1 billion annually.
Hiep earned his master’s and Ph.D. at Nebraska with intimate knowledge of the economic impact of animal viruses after growing up helping on his parents' pig farm in Vietnam. Leveraging his global connections, Hiep’s work has shown great promise, receiving a $500 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Breakthrough Innovation of the Year Award.
With support from the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives, Hiep’s research has also fostered new partnerships with Nong Lam University and other institutions in Vietnam that can continue to build faculty research relationships and potential student exchanges.
"Our goal is to develop a universal or broadly protective vaccine that could protect against multiple variants of the virus. Potentially my parents would use the product that I developed here in the States – and that would be helping them [and farmers around the world] a lot." – Hiep Vu, assistant professor and virologist
Support Global Nebraska Now
Questions about your gift or interested in doing more? Contact the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives at globalaffairs@unl.edu.