Columbia Global

Students in health professions face limited access to global opportunities, hindering their exposure to diverse health systems and care models.

A six-week practicum at health facilities for nursing students in India, Jordan, China, and Kenya to gain invaluable knowledge, clinical experience and skills.

Columbia Global Centers, Columbia University School of Nursing

The interconnected, ever-changing world requires scholars who embrace open-ended and diverse approaches to considering and tackling global challenges.

The Masters in Global Thought Program enables students to ask critical questions rather than offer prescriptive answers to global challenges, thinking across disciplines while receiving a foundation in global governance, political economy, and culture.

The Committee on Global Thought

An effective global education requires immersive experiences, and learning from local experts who encourage new thinking and learning.

Mentored internships, practicums, academic programs for undergraduate and graduate students, residencies, seminars, and workshops with distinguished Columbia and local faculty.

Columbia Global Center Paris, Columbia College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, French institutional partners

More than 117 million people were forcibly displaced in 2023, among them early-career scholars in the humanities whose access to educational opportunities, resources, and networks is disrupted.

Support to displaced scholars to continue their work, strengthen their research skills, and expand their professional networks while based in their host country.

Columbia Global Centers in Amman, Nairobi, and Santiago

Students forcibly displaced from their home countries face significant challenges in pursuing their education, hindering their ability to rebuild their lives, pursue meaningful careers, and contribute to their communities.

The scholarship for displaced students offers a Columbia education, while embracing what such students offer to the Columbia community.

Columbia Global, and the following schools at Columbia University: Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Arts; Arts and Sciences; Business; Climate; Engineering and Applied Science; International and Public Affairs; Journalism; Law; Professional Studies; Public Health; Social Work; Teachers College; Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Emerging leaders require new knowledge, mentorship, networks, and resources to advance their efforts in addressing local, regional, and global challenges.

The Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University offers immersive education, mentorship, and skills-development opportunities to equip emerging leaders with the tools to accelerate their impact.

Columbia World Projects, Obama Foundation

There are limited opportunities for undergraduate students to explore their interests in tackling complex societal challenges.

A year-long social impact fellowship for rising juniors and seniors that focuses on skills-building, site visits, and conversations with social impact leaders.

Columbia World Projects, Columbia University, and Barnard College undergraduate students

Women across the world face a dearth of executive and leadership training programs, reducing their ability to grow professionally and overcome gender discrimination.

Offer strategic training, workshops, networking, and mentorship to diverse women leaders from Brazil, which empowers them to address systemic social challenges in their communities.

Columbia Global Center Rio de Janeiro

Early career faculty need access to training and resources to design and implement effective solutions that have the potential for societal impact.

Provide training, seed funding, and technical assistance over a two-year period to advance innovative ideas from faculty that can impact societies.

Columbia World Projects

The accelerating climate crisis poses an enormous threat to Brazil, impacting health, livelihoods, and economic growth, especially among vulnerable populations.

The Climate Hub at the Columbia Global Center Rio de Janeiro that works with civil society, public institutions, and the private sector in Brazil to deepen collaborative, climate-related initiatives, research, and dialogue.

The Columbia Global Center Rio de Janeiro, Mayor's Office in Rio, public, private, and civil society institutions

Nearly three billion people around the world use traditional cookstoves and fuels, resulting in indoor pollution that causes an estimated four million preventable deaths per year.

The comprehensive, clean cooking technology project in Ghana uses behavioral and economic strategies to promote clean cooking practices, deploy clean technologies, and address infrastructure and regulatory barriers.

Columbia World Projects, Kintampo Health Research Centre in Ghana, University of California, Santa Barbara, Clean Cooking Alliance

Climate variability threatens health, food security, and agricultural sustainability of communities around the world. There is an urgent need for state-of-the-art forecasts, timely and quality climate information, and decision-making tools.

Partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and universities in Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Senegal, and Vietnam to develop climate products and advisory systems that inform agricultural decisions.

Columbia World Projects, Columbia Climate School’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society

Global climate change and extreme weather events have highlighted the urgent need to build community resilience and sustainability.

Develop a blueprint for a community resilience center to enable a vulnerable community in Santo Domingo to prepare for and respond to climate emergencies.

Columbia World Projects, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Mailman School of Public Health, the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Office of the Mayor of Santo Domingo, and Universidad Iberoamericana

Children in Sierra Leone face significant health and educational challenges, leading to disproportionately high morbidity and mortality rates.

Develop and evaluate wraparound health services for children two to six years old and their families through a preschool-based health unit and teaching garden.

Columbia World Projects, ICAP, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Government of Sierra Leone

In the U.S., one in three maternal deaths occurs within one year of delivery and more than half of these deaths are preventable.

Support a large-scale, multi-state survey on postpartum health designed and conducted to inform policy and reduce maternal mortality.

Columbia World Projects, Cornell University, and health departments in New York State, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Utah

Rising debt in contemporary societies leads to systemic failures, instability, growing inequality, and increased uncertainty for debtors.

Examine debt dependencies and interdependencies and how they shape economic inequality and political tensions within and between countries.

The Committee on Global Thought

Cultural and historical sites of significance in Istanbul lack a comprehensive digital platform for scholarly study and public access.

Create an open-access digital platform to showcase Istanbul's historical monuments and include high-resolution media, virtual tours, maps, with detailed descriptions.

Columbia Global Center Istanbul, The Istanbul Research Institute, Archaeological Museum in Istanbul

Regional conflict and disrupted training threaten the preservation of cultural heritage in the Middle East.

A series of regional workshops between U.S., European, and Australian museum specialists and conservators from Iraq, Libya, and Jordan to advance the learning on how to document and preserve collections, heritage architecture, and monuments.

Columbia Global Center Amman, Metropolitan Museum of Art

There is little awareness and appreciation in the West of the enduring impacts of nuclear weapons testing in regions like French Polynesia and the Marshall Islands.

Engaging faculty and students in investigating the effects of nuclear weapons testing and their long-term consequences for affected people and ecosystems.

Institute for Ideas and Imagination Fellow Emlyn Hughes, K=1 Project at the Center for Nuclear Studies

America’s water and wastewater infrastructure is aging. In some communities, it is either absent or failing.

Demonstrate a cost-effective, decentralized wastewater solution, with tools (e.g. needs mapping, models) to enable communities to design solutions, guide public funding distribution, and help improve national infrastructure.

Columbia World Projects, Columbia School of Engineering, University of Alabama, Arizona State University, University of North Carolina, University of South Alabama, Black Belt Community Foundation, Consortium for Alabama Rural Water and Wastewater

More than 800 million people worldwide do not have reliable access to electricity, which is a critical barrier to economic opportunity and food security.

A scalable, evidence-based model using satellite technology, field surveys, and consumer surveys to generate actionable data for new energy investments across Uganda.

Columbia World Projects, Government of Uganda, United Nations Capital Development Fund

A few large firms control the major technology platforms — limiting democratic discourse, healthy financial markets, the free flow of information, and meaningful social interactions.

An initiative to foster regulation of digital platforms through networks of policymakers, regulators, and researchers in the U.S., Europe, and the Global South.

Columbia World Projects, Centre for Digital Governance at the Hertie School in Berlin, global stakeholders and institutions, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Power, inequality, and uncertainty hinder effective collective labor action and the adaptation of labor movements, creating an uncertain future for labor movements in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Inquiry into the forces that shape labor markets and movements to inform policies and strategies to create more equitable and sustainable global labor practices.

The Center for Political Economy at Columbia World Projects, global stakeholders in labor, government, education, and civil society

Journalists play a crucial role in the success of democracy worldwide by providing accurate information and accountability. However, many have limited access to resources or necessary technical training to fulfill this mandate.

Identify the knowledge and skills most relevant to journalists and provide information, training, networking, opportunities for dialogue, and a supportive community.

Columbia Global Centers in Paris, Amman, Santiago, and Istanbul, Forbidden Stories, Le Monde, DART Center for Journalism and Trauma

There are too few public-facing opportunities for international authors to share their perspectives and storytelling, and to engage in thoughtful dialogue around their work.

Host book talks in a variety of international settings around curated themes and select authors.

Global Centers in Amman, Beijing, Istanbul, Mumbai, Nairobi, Paris, Santiago, and Tunis, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, The American Library in Paris