At Virginia Tech, we believe students learn best and society benefits most when our community engages with the world around it. We take seriously our role as a global land-grant university, one that provides students exposure to transformational, even transcendent, international opportunities.
We are home to a vibrant, diverse, and welcoming community of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as renowned scholars and scientists from around the world. We are a hub for international research and worldwide partnerships.
More than ever before, our students and faculty are tackling complex global problems through an approach that is both transdisciplinary and experiential. Our faculty and staff, too, are putting knowledge to work to positively transform lives and communities around the world.
In this inaugural issue of Virginia Tech Global, we highlight some of the ways Virginia Tech is interacting with the world through our education, research, and engagement.
Whether it’s applying the principles of behavioral economics in the mountains of Peru, constructing the home of the future in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates, or developing strategies to coexist amicably with animals in the wilds of Botswana — Virginia Tech is making a global impact.
More of our students are discovering new ways of thinking by participating in study abroad opportunities, and we are attracting the world’s foremost talent to become students and scholars at Virginia Tech. We are also building resilient and enduring partnerships to encourage more research collaborations, faculty and staff exchanges, and capacity building projects.
Guiding all of this is our commitment to Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). This is not only our university motto, but also the way of life at Virginia Tech. We know that to fully realize the Ut Prosim imperative and be relevant in today’s world, we cannot serve only our students, our region, or even our commonwealth. In the 21st century, we must serve with global reach and distinction.
Guru Ghosh
Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs