Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Global Initiatives updates newsletter for faculty, researchers and staff at UC San Diego! Each month, we’ll share key updates, opportunities, and highlights related to UC San Diego’s global engagement efforts—from funding and programs to faculty spotlights and international partnerships.  Subscribe to stay connected!

A postdoctoral fellowship program between the U.S. and Japan designed to advance excellence in bioengineering and biomedical research by supporting early-career researchers for up to two years.
Sponsor: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), SF-CZ Biohub
Submission Deadline: April 30, 2025

Funding supports projects that identify a challenge related to a specific place and its unique conditions.  It leverages an education solution using spatial thinking to enable people to act on behalf of our planet and its people.  Proposals should relate to National Geographic focus areas—Ocean, Land, Wildlife, Human Histories and Cultures, Planetary Health, and Space.

Sponsor: National Geographic

Pre-applications due: May 5, 2025

This short-term grant provides funding to support visiting professors and to encourage collaborative research with their faculty, especially within the scientific fields of their research laboratories.  Learn more about the program and how to apply.

Sponsor: École Polytechnique

Submission Deadline: June 20, 2025

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world. The 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Competition is now open. UC San Diego has a dedicated contact for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program who can help you navigate through the various awards and the award process.

UC San Diego contact: Max Reinke, mreinke@ucsd.edu  

Submission Deadline: September 15, 2025

Federal Updates

The University of California, Office of the President  and UC San Diego are tracking Executive Orders and other federal government updates pertinent to the University of California, including those pertinent to our international community and our global engagement.

Global Initiatives Launches New Webpages

Global Initiatives has published new webpages designed to support the global engagement efforts of faculty and staff. These pages outline a variety of opportunities for global involvement and provide guidance on connecting with the appropriate campus units for international partnerships, travel, export control, and other key areas.

Pivot-RP Institutional Subscription Renewal 

The Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) has renewed the campus subscription to the Pivot-Research Professional (RP) funding opportunity database. This large, comprehensive funding database is available to all UC San Diego affiliates: faculty, staff, and students using UC San Diego institutional credentials for login. 

Watch the following video tutorials to get started! 

Video 1: Logging in, claiming your profile, and running a search (4 minutes) 

Video 2: Running a search (extended), sharing a search, and saving a search (15 minutes) 

Video 3: Bonus features for unit administrators and research group leaders (4 minutes) 

For more information, contact the Research Development team at researchdevelopment@ucsd.edu 

Stay connected to Global Initiatives

Subscribe to the Global Initiatives Updates for Faculty, Researchers, & Staff to receive monthly updates from Global Initiatives.  If you or your unit has global engagement, opportunities or events to share, please email global@ucsd.edu by the 30th of each month.

UC San Diego Ranked Among World’s Top 10 Universities Powering Global Innovation

UC San Diego has been named one of the top 10 universities worldwide for promoting innovation on a global scale, according to the 2024 edition of the Nature Index. This recognition highlights the outstanding contributions of our faculty and researchers to advancing science and technology with real-world impact.

Strategic Partners in Medicine

UC San Diego hosted a delegation from HKUST led by President Nancy Ip. The visit featured an MOU signing to launch a strategic partnership in support of HKUST's bid to become the third school of medicine in Hong Kong. Chancellor Khosla said, “The collaboration with HKUST embodies our shared vision to redefine medical education through cross-disciplinary innovation.  By combining both institution’s strengths in cutting-edge technology with our expertise in translational research and compassionate, innovative clinical training, we aim to create a robust platform for advancing medical education and patient care, empowering students and faculty to pioneer solutions for tomorrow’s health care challenges.” 

All faculty and staff are invited to join the International Services and Engagement Office (ISEO) for a cup of coffee and a morning pastry as well as fun activities and a chance to build global connections.

When: Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 8-9am

Where: Student Center B, Eucalyptus Grove

Contact: ifsoprograms@ucsd.edu for more information.

All faculty and staff are invited to join the International Services and Engagement Office (ISEO) for an informal social gathering that gives attendees a chance to meet people, make friends, and practice English with local volunteers and fellow international community members.

When: Wednesday, April 16, 2025; April 30, 2025; and May 7, 2025 10am-12pm

Where: La Jolla Community Room at La Jolla Village Square

Contact: ifsoprograms@ucsd.edu for more detailed information

If you are interested in discussing moving forward with a strategic international partnership, including information about hosting an international delegation or formalizing a partnership through an agreement or MOU, please contact global@ucsd.edu.   

Singapore in San Diego

Permanent Secretary (National Research and Development) and Chairman (Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)) Professor Tan Chorh Chuan visited UC San Diego along with representatives from Temasek over two days in February. The visit included tours of the Center for Novel Therapeutics, Sanford Consortium, and meetings with Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Dean Al Pisano and faculty from across JSOE, the Office of Innovation and Commercialization, and faculty from the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences.  

Fulbright Taiwan EMI Workshop

In January, the Global Initiatives Team welcomed 17 faculty members from Taiwanese universities for an EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) workshop lasting two weeks. This marked the third year that UC San Diego hosted the workshop focused on student success strategies, EMI as a tool of internationalization, engaged teaching, innovations in STEM pedagogy, classroom observations and more. 

January - March Partnerships

The Global partnership database contains the latest information on UC San Diego’s formalized international partnerships.