Students will ‘live, learn, and explore’ abroad thanks to international fellowships and scholarships

As a result of hard work and perseverance, several students from a variety of colleges and academic disciplines have been awarded international fellowships and scholarships. In addition, RIT has a record six Fulbright U.S. Student awardees this year, following a record 30 applicants and 15 finalists.

“One of the hallmarks of an RIT education is the opportunity to send so many students out into the world to live, learn, and explore,” said Jenny Sullivan, director of Education Abroad and International Fellowships. “Thanks to these nationally competitive fellowships and scholarships, our students are using their skills and talents to make a difference in the global community. They are learning other languages, building relationships with locals, and exploring other values and perspectives related to their disciplines. These experiences provide benefits that extend far beyond classroom measurements.”

The DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) Research Internships in Science and Engineering provide fully funded summer opportunities in Germany for undergraduate students to gain practical research experience. Students are paired with a German university and a German Ph.D. student on research projects in the fields of science and engineering. This year’s DAAD Rise scholars are Mikaela Simpkinson, a biomedical engineering student from Silverdale, Wash., who will conduct research on coil calibration; Anh Nguyen, a computer science student from Vietnam, who will research safety-critical AI; Samuel Ferreira, a computer science student from Pottstown, Pa., who will research fairness in multi-agent reinforcement learning; and Paula de Cardenas, a chemical engineering student from Rochester, N.Y., who will participate in an internship in the field of materials science, electrochemistry, and chemistry.

The DAAD Rise Professional scholarship provides fully funded summer research internships in Germany for graduate students in the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, earth science, or engineering. This year’s recipients are Monoshiz Mahbub Khan, a computing and information sciences Ph.D. student, who will research deep learning for computer vision or natural language processing from Rochester, N.Y.; and Viet Dung Nguyen, a computing and information sciences Ph.D. student from Vietnam, who will research the use of industrial AI.

The David L. Boren Scholarship, awarded by the U.S. government for critical languages and promoting national security, funds undergraduate students’ language intensive programs, which includes immersion in the cultures in world regions underrepresented in study abroad. Students are required to work for the U.S. government for one year after graduation. This year’s recipient is Andrew Le, a computer science student from Fairport, N.Y., who will study in Japan this summer and fall.

The Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program gives U.S. students the chance to be part of a 10- to 12-week research summer internship under the supervision of Canadian university faculty members in a variety of academic disciplines, from science, engineering and mathematics, to the humanities and social sciences. This year’s recipient is Karthikha Sri Indran, a biomedical sciences student from Fremont, Calif.

The Critical Language Scholarship partners with universities and nonprofits around the world to provide U.S. students with a fully funded summer opportunity to study the language and culture in a country where the target language is commonly spoken. Scholars are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers. This year’s recipient is Avi Strohmeyer, an applied modern language and culture student from Oswego, N.Y., who will study advanced Chinese in Taiwan.

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, provided by the U.S. Department of State, enables students to study or intern abroad while gaining proficiency in diverse languages and cultures. The program encourages students to conduct STEM-related research abroad as part of their study abroad or international internship program. This year’s recipients are Evangelina Mack, an international and global studies student from Pittsford, N.Y., who will travel to Hong Kong in spring 2025; and Jaime Offeiokyne, a software engineering student from Bronx, N.Y., who will be traveling to Taiwan this summer.