Dr. Keechoo Choi, President of Ajou University in Suwon, South Korea, visited the University of Florida on Friday, May 2. Ajou University, ranked among the top 15 universities in Korea, is a comprehensive institution known for its strong engineering programs.
During his visit, President Choi met with UFIC leadership to discuss potential collaborations, including the establishment of a general Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and student exchange programs.
Dr. Ana Maria Porras, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, was recently interviewed by UNICollaboration, a European-based Virtual Exchange network. During this interview, Dr. Porras describes how she developed a virtual exchange program in collaboration with Dr. Daniel Suarez Venegas from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. Their virtual exchange project, which has already been implemented twice, requires students to identify global health issues in their partners’ country and propose solutions.
To check out the interview and article for the full story, click here.
Dr. Diba Mani, Instructional Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, was recently interviewed by UNICollaboration, a European-based Virtual Exchange network. During this interview, Dr. Mani described how she developed a virtual exchange program which centered on connecting students with international researchers to support their professional development. The virtual exchange program required students connect with and interview researchers in Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Canada, UK, Italy.
To check out the interview and article for the full story, click here
Amila Tica— "Tica, like pizza," she joked—is UFIC’s Coordinator of Exchange Student Services, advising and assisting all inbound international students studying abroad here at UF. Amila is a double Gator, with a B.A. in International Studies and English and an M.Ed. in Student Personnel in Higher Education.
Born in Germany to Bosnian parents, Amila moved to the United States when she was 5 years old. “My family escaped from the war in Bosnia and lived in Germany for 7 years—it’s where my brother and I were born. We came as refugees to Jacksonville in 2000, when our residence in Germany became tenuous.” Growing up in Jacksonville, she always was close to her Bosnian heritage, “Jacksonville has one of the highest percentages of Bosnian folks in the US—it was nice for my family, because the community already existed and provided us with welcome tastes of home.”
Amila earned her International Baccalaureate degree from her high school in Jacksonville and started as a... READ MORE
The Ukraine Rebuilding Initiative (URI) began as a UF student organization in August 2023 with a mission to help rebuild and heal the city of Nizhyn, Ukraine. With projects across a range of academic areas - from engineering to business to agriculture and more - the organization has attracted students of all majors who want to contribute their expertise to this humanitarian cause, some of whom also have personal ties to Ukraine and Russia. This semester, URI has launched a new virtual exchange (VE) initiative as one of its projects, with the goal of supporting dialogue between UF and Nizhyn Gogol State University students and providing a space for them to share about their respective cultures. The VE project is being facilitated by graduating seniors Mikhail Mikhaylov and Grace Wright, who lead URI.
To learn more, click here
Click on pin to open VE Project page
UFIC 
Study Abroad 
International Students
Exchange Students
Exchange Visitors
Office of Global Learning
International Scholars Program
Global Research Engagement
