International student enrollments for US graduate schools are down for the second year in a row according to a new report, raising concerns as to what’s behind the continuing decline.

The number of first-time international graduate students enrolled in U.S. programs fell 3.7% from the fall of 2016 to the fall of 2017, with their share among first-time grad students falling from 22% to 20.3% during that period, according to a report from the Council of Graduate Schools. There were proportionally more first-time international graduate students at private nonprofits (24.2%) than public colleges (19%) in the fall of 2017. 

In keynote remarks, Dr. Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, stressed the critical importance of developing multiple mentors and advisers rather than relying on one individual.

“Mentoring and advising are way too much for one person to do,” she said. “So, you need a network.”

“Good mentoring is critical to faculty and student diversity,” Ortega added. “Be the kind of mentor you would like to have had.”career path begins or takes you.

A recent PhD recipient in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences from the University of Vermont, Rajiv Jumani’s research focuses on fighting child mortality and growth defects. While growing up in Bangalore, India, Jumani’s interest in biomedical research grew as he witnessed doctor’s inability to treat communicable diseases. He pursued his undergraduate degree in biotechnology engineering and worked on vaccine development and phage therapy for a few years before deciding to enter a graduate program.

Rajiv’s doctoral work was primarily, “to guide identification and development of drugs against the neglected diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis.” He collaborated with researchers around the world, and his work led to the discovery of a promising compound to use to develop a pharmaceutical treatment for Cryptosporidiosis that maximizes the rate of parasite elimination.

Rajiv is now working as an investigator at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, a public private partnership between Novartis and the Singapore Economic Development Board to identify innovative treatments and prevention methods for major tropical diseases in developing countries, specifically malaria, dengue fever, and tuberculosis. To learn more about Rajiv’s work visit the University of Vermont website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: University of Vermont

Graduate students in the humanities face many challenges. The academic job market keeps getting tighter, student debt loads bigger. A doctorate these days isn’t worth it, critics have argued. But the results of a new survey, released on Thursday by the Council of Graduate Schools, push back a bit against that gloomy narrative.

A large majority of humanities Ph.D.s believe that their graduate programs prepared them well for their eventual jobs, academic or not, especially over time. And all those jobs appear to require many of the same kinds of skills, according to a new report from the Council of Graduate Schools.

As a pediatric cancer survivor, Kelilah Wolkowicz knew she wanted to spend her life helping people. A recent PhD recipient in mechanical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, Wolkowicz’s research focused on the co-creation of a robotic wheelchair as part of the Vehicles and Systems Group in Penn State’s College of Engineering.

The U.S. has approximately three million people who need wheelchairs to get around. Wolkowicz and other researchers were concerned with designing a robotic wheelchair that would meet the needs of those with a variety of mobility issues. “I’m hoping to improve the quality of life for them,” said Wolkowicz. “We don’t want a person to adapt to a wheelchair that exists; we want to create a wheelchair that adapts to the person.” The design includes sensors that utilize ultrasonic technology and can detect and avoid obstacles. In addition, the wheelchairs are outfitted with lasers that can map the surroundings and act as a GPS system, which could be especially helpful for patients with memory loss.

The robotic wheelchair prototype still needs work to minimize the requirements on the user, but Wolkowicz is confident the next team will make significant advances. Meanwhile she will be continuing her own work as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. “This is what I went to graduate school for,” Wolkowicz said. “I just really want to help people, especially in the medical field.” To learn more about Kelilah’s work visit the Penn State University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Erin Cassidy Hendrick/Penn State

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/10/03/report-says-international-graduate-enrollments-were-down-second-straight-year-last

First-time international graduate enrollments in U.S. institutions fell 3.7 percent from fall 2016 to fall 2017, according to a new report from the Council of Graduate Schools. While the council isn’t certain what caused the drop, it’s hard for it -- or anyone else -- not to think of the Trump administration’s stance on immigration.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/International-Students-/244706?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest

Graduate enrollment by international students in the United States has decreased for the second time since 2003, according to an annual report by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Michael Mahoney, a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Master of Product Innovation program, is the epitome of an entrepreneur. One of his program requirements was to write about his experience in the field. He heard about Clipster, an accelerator program based in Poland, and thought it might be a good fit. “I contacted Clipster and convinced them to create a position for me, and it worked!” Mahoney said. “Nobody ever told me I could make up my own job, but that's essentially what I did. I even made up my title, International Partnerships Specialist, and it stuck.”

Clipster is a co-living program that offers workshops and mentoring to help entrepreneurs accelerate the launch of a new business. The community atmosphere with 3-month long retreats provides participants the opportunity to be completely immersed in their projects. Mahoney manages outreach to develop strategic funding partners to facilitate recruitment, programming, networking, and seed-stage funding.

“My main goal is trying to make the program more focused, and cohesive,” Mahoney said. “I want to create a funnel of quality, pre-screened applicants who have already taken part in pre-accelerator programs or have an existing business they want to grow.” To learn more about Mike’s work visit the Virginia Commonwealth University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Virginia Commonwealth University