world scholar > mcdonnell international scholars academy

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University is attracting talented international students to its St Louis, Missouri campus and building relationships with partner universities across the globe.

The academy, funded by $10 million endowment from John F McDonnell and the JSM Charitable Trust, was established in 2006 and enables select international scholars from Washington University’s twenty-one partner universities to earn advanced degrees while learning about international issues and participating in special programs and events.

“How to participate globally is a challenge for all universities, and this is our way of setting the model for a global institution,” said director James Wertsch.

While only in its inaugural year, the academy is currently composed of about 30 scholars who are already busy networking across cultures, nations and fields.

Networking and establishing such connections among students and faculty is one of the academy’s objectives.

According to Wertsch, it’s important the institution, through its programs, “develop a cohort of future leaders in a global university system to promote global connectedness and social responsibility.... The biggest advantage we offer is the creation of this tight-knit group of future leaders that is very well networked. We envision a scenario where one day the minister of India can call up the defense minister of Turkey.”

And the academy’s students agree. The personal and professional connections they’re making — both inside and outside the academy — are what make their experience at Washington University so exceptional.

“Being part of the academy has put all the scholars in a very unique position to meet and connect with knowledgeable and altruistic minds that we would not otherwise have,” said Karavikar Svetasreni, a student from Chulalongkorn University (‘09) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Students build these relationships through academy-organized activities, such as trips to Washington, DC to meet congressmen, dinners where scholars each bring a dish from their country or the academy’s International Symposium on Energy and Environment, which took place in May.

The symposium, allowed partner universities to develop research and education goals on global issues of energy and environment, and provided an arena for students to meet professionals from the academy’s partner universities and to network across disciplines. More than half of the presidents of the academy’s partner universities attended the symposium, as well as Washington University faculty, and participants from government agencies and research foundations.

“Activities like the conference on environment and energy give students not within that discipline the chance to run into people they wouldn’t otherwise,” Wertsch said. “They’re making connections with all sorts of people, and it provides them with the opportunity to learn about global issues.”

Jenny An-Chun Chien, a Taiwanese student from the National University of Singapore (‘10), said such activities give her and her fellow scholars “an opportunity to step outside of our specialized fields to learn about pressing issues in the world and how people are dealing with — or hoping to deal with — these issues in different fields.”

Scholars also have a little guidance along the way.

“The academy is really an opportunity for this group of future leaders to build relationships with leaders in their field, with each other, and with their academy ambassadors,” Wertsch said.

Ambassadors, Washington University faculty members appointed by Wertsch, are paired with scholars and serve as their mentors, providing guidance and support and helping them adjust to life in the United States. Ambassadors also act as liaisons to students’ home universities and annually travel with them to their alma mater, working to establish relationships with university faculty and alumni and with corporations and government entities within the country. Students say this annual trip back to their home university is one of the highlights of their experience at the academy.

“I am now a representative for my alumni and my country. This gives me the chance to learn more about my country, to understand what are the needs of my country, and to address them well in my interests in learning,” said Gilad Hertanu, an Israeli student from the Interdisciplinary Center (‘09).

“As a representative, later in my career I will have the experience to build networks, lobbying to work together with different people from different backgrounds. With the role as scholar and representative, I will have the potential to be a pioneer or maybe a leader to really make a positive change for my country in the future,” he said.

In addition to academy-sponsored trips back to their home universities, McDonnell International Academy scholars also enjoy financial aid and housing benefits, which contribute to their experience. Grants and sponsorship are funded through donations from corporation and foundations which enables the academy to offer its scholars full tuition, housing and financial support.

“We provide a very good financial aid package to our scholars, but the academy is intended to be much more than that,” Wertsch said. “What we envision is a program like Rhodes Scholars for students who are graduates of our partner universities. And we’re working to expand it and improve it all the time.”

The academy is currently affiliated with 21 partner universities, but Wertsch says he expects the academy to develop relationships with up to 35 international universities.

“We’re trying not to have too many in one area of the world, but right now two-thirds are from Asia. We’re working on developing contacts with universities in Chile and Brazil,” he said.

On average, scholars will spend about three years at Washington University, studying, networking, and learning about global issues. Wertsch says the academy will continue to grow and change even before the academy’s first scholars graduate.

“We’re learning more about what our scholars want. They’re more ambitious than we ever expected. They want more outings, student-run conferences, and a growing partner university network. We’re working to give them that,” he said.

Scholars, meanwhile, are enjoying the experience the academy has given them so far.

“My future plans have been gradually modified by my time at the academy. The academy has opened my eyes to new opportunities and raised the awareness in me that I hope to do something that is more interdisciplinary for my career in the future,” Jenny said.

Karavikar agrees.

“It is not a scholarship. Being accepted into the academy is a prestigious membership that will be valuable throughout your life. Being part of the academy has inspired me to aspire to do more with my career and be responsible to a greater cause,” she said.

When asked what she would tell students considering applying to the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, Jenny said, “If you want to maximize your experience while pursuing your graduate study in the United States, this is the perfect program for you. You’ll get to hear different opinions, see things from a different perspective, and you might see a different you eventually, too.”