Announcements

German Fulbright Student Summer Institute Goes Virtual

The Center for Communicating Science and the Cranwell International Center have been collaborating with the German-American Fulbright Commission for the past several years to offer an innovative three-week program to 20-24 German undergraduates. The summer 2020 program was cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but it's back this year--in a fully online format.

The program, “Communicating Across Disciplines: New Approaches for Applied Sciences,” is hosting 27 German students July 19-August 14. CCS director Patty Raun, associate director Carrie Kroehler, and faculty fellow Daniel Bird Tobin, along with Cranwell Center director David Clubb, Rachel Fitzgerald of the Global Education Office, and CCS graduate assistants Gabe Velazquez and Rachel Potter Nunn have put together a full slate of creative engagements for the students.

The three-week period is typically full of coursework, co-curricular activities, and extra-curricular activities, including scenic hikes in the areas surrounding Blacksburg, trips to the Homestead restaurant, and experiencing local events such as Steppin' Out. Online, the students will engage in several hours of coursework three days a week; daily conversation hours with Virginia Tech peer mentors; and tours and talks to orient them to campus, town, regional, and Washington, D.C. sights and resources. 

The decision to hold the program online this summer was made by the German Fulbright Commission in response to uncertainty about vaccination programs and "passports," the safety of flights for the students, and other pandemic-related considerations.