Church history, digital activism, choral music, environmental biosciences and women’s reproductive rights globally were just some of the wide-ranging topics explored at the inaugural Ozmen Institute for Global Studies (OIGS) Series on Cross-disciplinary & Applied Research Symposia (OSCAR-Symposia) last month.

OIGS, established in 2018 with an endowment from the Ozmen family, the Office of the Provost and various University of Nevada, Reno schools and colleges, works to encourage and support students and faculty to participate in internationalizing their research and educational activities through collaboration and promote the University on the global stage. OIGS is under the University’s Center for Global Engagement.

“The goal of this event was to showcase international research by our faculty and students that represent different academic units and disciplines,” Mehmet Tosun, University Chief International Officer and College of Business faculty, said. “The event added very nicely to the International Education Week (IEW) activities in the university.” 

Several students and faculty gathered to discuss their international research activities for the Nov. 21 OSCAR symposia at the Global Engagement Center in the Pennington Student Achievement Center. 

The inaugural event focused mainly on the contributions of recent recipients of the OIGS travel award from multiple colleges at the University. The award is made annually and primarily covers the travel and research related expenses of University graduate students and faculty seeking to engage in international research, education and outreach.

“We created this event as a platform where students and faculty across multiple disciplines can come together to share, discuss and explore a variety of globally focused research topics in the backdrop of a culture showcase,” Ravi Subramanian, OIGS deputy director and College of Engineering faculty member, said. “Though graduate student works were featured in this inaugural event, we hope to broaden participation by featuring the global works of our undergraduates as well.”

The event concluded with a cultural activity highlighting dance and music performances by the local artists associated with the Philippine community.

Tosun and Subramanian expressed interest in expanding the OIGS’s OSCAR symposia as an annual event that will feature participation from several colleges, cover a broader range of topics and foster cross-disciplinary interactions and collaborations.