PLAN, Manage Your Professional Development as a Graduate Student
The University of Michigan has a long and distinguished history of international graduate education. Each year, Rackham welcomes over 700 new international students to its graduate programs. Our international students arrive in Ann Arbor during fall from dozens of countries from across the world.
We are asking graduate students to volunteer some of their time this fall to provide our new international students with a friendly introduction to the University of Michigan and life in Ann Arbor and to help ease their social and cultural transition into a new country. A personal connection with another graduate student willing to share his or her experiences and helpful advice can be of extraordinary benefit for a new student from overseas.
All graduate students are welcome to volunteer for Rackham's International Connect (I-Connect) program. We will match you with one or more new students, and provide resources and information for you to share. You do not need to be an international student yourself, or be in the same program as the new student(s) you will meet.
Thank you for your willingness to lend a welcoming hand to new members of the University of Michigan's growing global community.
John B. Godfrey
Assistant Dean for International Education
I-Connect is an initiative by Rackham Graduate School to assist international graduate students in their first-year adjustment to the University of Michigan, while also providing an opportunity for existing University of Michigan graduate students to connect with students from around the world.
The I-Connect program is open to all first-year international graduate students who would like to be connected with an experienced graduate student, and to interact with the larger community of other new international graduate students. I-Connect volunteers are international and/or domestic graduate students from all disciplines across the University. I-Connect Volunteers share their U-M experience with new international graduate students and provide support to help ease their transition to the University. This program is coordinated by Graduate Student Affairs at the Rackham Graduate School.
The primary aim of the program is to help with new students' social and cultural transition, and to foster intercultural exchange and dialogue among graduate students in general. While there is a particular emphasis on the early phases of transition over the summer and during the Fall semester, I-Connect events are held throughout the year and I-Connect partners are encouraged to keep in touch on a regular basis.
Although general academic information and advice may be exchanged, I-Connect is not meant to be an academic mentoring program and incoming students may or may not be matched with existing graduate students in the same program. There are a number of peer mentoring programs that exist at the University of Michigan. Some programs are developed by academic departments or by certain international student organizations. Students are welcome to participate in more than one program.
The I-Connect program was organized for the first time to connect incoming Fall 2007 international graduate students with experienced graduate student volunteers. The program was a success with the participation of 86 volunteers and 191 new students. For the 2008-2009 I-Connect program, numbers increased to 123 volunteers and 329 new students. Interest was so high that not everyone was able to be matched with a volunteer, but all interested students were still welcome to attend the I-Connect social events and to share information via the I-Connect CTools site. This year, we hope to attract a record number of volunteers and match even more incoming students. Asked which aspects of the I-Connect program they enjoyed the most, here is what previous participants have had to say:
Getting to know new students, their backgrounds. It also helps you grow as a person interacting with people from diverse communities and learning to respect their aspirations and inhibitions.
Being able to convey to my new students the mistakes I made early in my graduate career. From my point of view the program was about connecting inexperienced people with experienced people and this goal was a complete success.
You probably still remember your first year at the University of Michigan - the wide array of questions you had, the challenges you faced adjusting to a new environment, and the people who made an impact on you. Now you can make a difference by providing assistance to new international graduate students.
We are looking for enthusiastic graduate students from all cultural and academic backgrounds, willing to share their Michigan experience with first-year international graduate students. Volunteers from all disciplines across the University have participated and found the experience to be extremely enjoyable and beneficial. By participating in the I-Connect program, you not only act as a positive ambassador welcoming newcomers to the University of Michigan, you also connect with other scholars from around the world and participate in valuable intercultural networking and exchange.
After being matched with an incoming international graduate student (one by default, more if requested), you help to ease their transition by:
Become an I-Connect Volunteer today and make a difference! Complete the online Volunteer Application Form and submit by the deadline, July 20th, 2009.
In making matches, we will try to take into account issues such as academic program and country of origin, however, it should be kept in mind that I-Connect is not meant to serve as an academic mentoring program, nor is it meant to connect only students who are from the same country or region. Since the goal of the program is to ease social and cultural transition for incoming students, while fostering intercultural exchange and dialogue in general, all participants should be interested in meeting people who may be in different programs and/or from different countries.
Welcome to the University of Michigan and the Rackham Graduate Student Community!
The I-Connect program is designed to provide you with a support network during your first year of transition to a new country and a new university. You will be matched with one of our I-Connect volunteers - advanced domestic and international graduate students at the University of Michigan who have generously volunteered their time to help guide new students through their first year of adjustment to U-M and to Ann Arbor. One volunteer will generally work with a single new student or a small group of new students. By participating in I-Connect events throughout the year, you will benefit not only from your volunteer's experience and advice, but also from meeting other incoming international graduate students negotiating the same transition.
Benefits of the program include:
By participating in the I-Connect program, you agree to contribute to your I-Connect partnership by:
To participate in the I-Connect program and request being matched with an I-Connect volunteer, please complete the New International Student Questionnaire.
In making matches, we will try to take into account issues such as academic program and country of origin, however, it should be kept in mind that I-Connect is not meant to serve as an academic mentoring program, nor is it meant to connect only students who are from the same country or region. Since the goal of the program is to ease social and cultural transition for incoming students, while fostering intercultural exchange and dialogue in general, all participants should be interested in meeting people who may be in different programs and/or from different countries.
Any stated preferences for matching will be taken into account as much as possible for all New Student Questionnaires received before May 31st; all New Student Questionnaires received after this date will be matched in the order in which they are received.
We look forward to welcoming you in person very soon!
The Rackham I-Connect Program is coordinated by Graduate Student Affairs at the Rackham Graduate School.
For more information, please contact us by e-mail:
or
Kim Greenwell
2009-2010 Program Coordinator
Darlene Ray-Johnson
Director, Graduate Student Affairs
Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
Graduate Student Affairs
1530 Rackham Building
915 E. Washington St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070
Phone: (734) 647-7548
Fax: (734) 936-2848
E-mail: gradstudentlife@umich.edu
