New Required Course for Faculty Hosting J-1 Exchange Visitors
01/23/26

Effective December 22, 2025, this course is required for every faculty member who is (or wishes) to host a J-1 visitor. The course must be completed before their department can make a request to our office for a DS2019, and it does include request for extending, shortening, or changing a visitor's program. The course is valid for one year, and the faculty member must send their certificate of completion to their departmental HR. 

Understanding the J-1 Visa Program at UF is conveniently available through MyUFTraining

Key details:

  • Required for all UF faculty hosting J-1 visitors
  • Must be...
Explore the World During Winter Break with UF’s New Global J Programs
01/21/26

The UF International Center is proud to announce that nearly a dozen new study abroad programs are set to take place between December 2026 - January 2027, UF’s Winter Break.

In 2021, UF extended its Winter Break term to be one week longer for students, paving the way for a new era of study abroad programming. Winter Break programs, much like Spring Break, will be short-term but high-impact, allowing students to make the most of their time between terms, explore a new location, and earn academic credit. “Global J”, short for Global January Term, is the acronym that has been developed to categorize and brand these programs.

Some of the exciting new programs that will be...

Get to Know Us! - Kenneth Parker
01/20/26

Get to Know Us! A monthly showcase of the amazing staff who make the International Center a place where the UF community meets all its international goals!

Kenneth Parker

Kenneth Parker is a Program Assistant and Front Desk for Exchange Visitor Services where he enjoys helping international students and scholars navigate new beginnings here at UF. Born in Long Beach, California, Kenneth moved to Florida at a young age and grew up in Tallahassee. He attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he earned a degree in theater before switching to English with a concentration in creative writing....

Alum Scholarship Brings Students From Colombia to Study at UF
01/20/26

In recent years, experiences have become as meaningful as material gifts. Instead of objects, people increasingly value opportunities that create lasting memories and personal growth. In academic settings, few experiences are as transformative as studying abroad. Maybe studying abroad is the ultimate experience a student can have?

That was the case for Yury Casas, Ferney Mena, and Joshua Murillo, three undergraduate students from Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia, who spent the fall semester at UF through the David Bushnell Scholarship. Yury, Ferney, and Joshua are the inaugural recipients of the scholarship, which exists thanks to the generosity of alum Craig Breese (BA LAS 1973), whose...

Global Virtual Exchange Advancing Healthcare Communication
01/20/26

UF faculty member Dr. Maria Laura Mecías led an international virtual exchange through Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, connecting interdisciplinary collaborators in the United States, Mexico, and Colombia to design mobile app prototypes for kidney disease patients. Now in its second semester, the exchange has been refined and expanded to deepen collaboration and strengthen project outcomes. The initiative showcases how multilingual communication and global partnerships can drive patient-centered health innovation.

...

UF Faculty Recognized at International Coastal Physics Conference
01/20/26

Dr. Arnoldo Valle-Levinson received a recognition from colleagues during the Third Conference of Latin American Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Oceans (LAPECO), held in Puerto Varas, Chile. The recognition highlights his contributions to the field of estuarine and coastal ocean research.

Congratulations Dr. Arnoldo!

Trilateral Global Research Partnership in Marine Natural Products May Trigger New Wave of Drug Discovery
01/12/26

From left to right, Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., a professor in the UF Department of Medicinal Chemistry and director of CNPD3, and Masteria Yunovilsa Putra, Ph.D., director of BRIN’s Research Center for Vaccines and Drugs, partner with Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School to translate Indonesia’s marine biodiversity into medicines and therapeutics.

Source: UF College of Pharmacy

Underneath the churning tides of the Indian and Pacific oceans lies a wealth of natural resources with the potential to heal what ails us.

A new global partnership among the University of Florida Center for Natural Products, Drug...

Fire-maintained savannas the mission of FFGS scientists’ participation in World Expert Lecture series
01/12/26

Pinus merkusii savanna in Luzon.

PHILLIPINES — The Philippines might evoke images of beautiful beaches and island life, but one of its landscapes has gone unrecognized for decades: savannas.

Savanna-like landscapes of Luzon, dotted with widely spaced pine trees and a sea of grasses at ground level, have historically been considered forests that should be protected from fire.

Rediscovering the possibility that these are fire-maintained savannas was the mission of UF/IFAS Associate Professor of Fire Ecology Raelene Crandall, Ph.D. and Research Assistant Scientist of Fire Science...

Jiri Hulcr Launches New International Research Program in Indonesia
01/12/26

 

Jiri Hulcr, Professor of Forest Entomology in the UF School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, has launched a new international program in Indonesia. His recent visit to the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) expands ongoing collaborations in Czechia, China, and South Korea. Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the UF International Center (UFIC), the initiative focuses on building capacity in forest entomology, forest protection, and biosecurity, underscoring Indonesia’s strategic importance. Plans are underway for an inaugural workshop with government officials in Jakarta this April to advance collaboration and partnership...

Dr. Joseph Meert Continues Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship Research in India
01/12/26

Dr. Joseph Meert (center rear) with Precambrian Research Group at BSIP

Dr. Joseph Meert began the second year of his Fulbright-Nehru Flex Fellowship in early December 2025 and is based at the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur, India, through February 4, 2026. During this time, he has collaborated with colleagues from the University of Rajasthan and IIT Roorkee on a geology field sampling excursion in the Aravalli Mountains. Dr. Meert also delivered an invited lecture at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences in Lucknow titled “The Vexing Vindhyan: When Paleomagnetism, Geochronology and Paleontology Clash.” He is currently conducting fieldwork in southern...

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