This September, the University will roll out an initiative for international students that will make available our Columbia Global Centers as sites where our students may convene, collaborate, study, or just hang out with other University students for the duration of the fall term–observing physical distancing and other health and safety protocols that will be announced in due course. In addition to our Global Centers, we plan to offer students access to sites in a number of other cities around the world. There, too, will be study spaces with wifi, printers, and other technical support, and opportunities for students to feel part of a remote satellite community.
The Global Centers are located in nine countries and provide the University with a worldwide network of expertise that facilitates engagement, research, and learning for students, faculty, and the public. Six of these nine Global Centers—Amman, Beijing, Istanbul, Nairobi, Paris, and Tunis—will be ready in mid-September with upgraded technology, equipment, and full-time, onsite, trained staff to receive and support international students. We hope that, by the end of month, depending on local pandemic conditions, the same will be true for our Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro Centers. Our Center in Santiago will also be able to support the small number of students who are in-country on an individual basis.
In addition, through our anticipated partnership with WeWork, we plan to offer access to additional, dedicated space in Beijing and Mumbai to complement our existing Center space in those two cities.
The Columbia Global Centers
The Columbia Global Centers promote and facilitate the collaborative and impactful engagement of the University’s faculty, students, and alumni with the world, to enhance understanding, address global challenges, and advance knowledge and its exchange. The Global Centers, as envisioned by President Lee C. Bollinger, were founded with the objective of connecting the local with the global, to create opportunities for shared learning and to deepen the nature of global dialogue. Learn more about our history
