Ensuring student access to international experiences remains asignature focus of the college. College of Forestry InternationalPrograms offers students the opportunity to explore diversecultures and ecosystems around the world, gain global insight andskills in their academic field, and expand their professional network. Academic advisors and faculty actively recruit students forinternational experiences and with options across six continents,students can choose to study, intern or research aboard.

GROWTH IN STUDENTINTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

• During FY 2017 and FY 2018, more than 170 students gained international experience. For the first time, the college’s three faculty-led programs in Alpine Europe, Chile and Malaysian Borneo were filled to capacity.

• Internship opportunities are growing, most notably in forestindustry placements in New Zealand and ecosystem services inChile and Malaysia. COF students were successful in obtainingprestigious awards for study abroad, namely from the Marshall Plan and Gilman scholarships.

• The Dean’s Fund for International Engagement supportedmore than 50 undergraduate and graduate students during thelast two years with an average award of $800.

• In summer 2017, the first graduate student program wasoffered in Tuscany, Italy. There is an increasing demand forinternational experiences for graduate students. Many graduates tudents conduct research and take courses abroad as well asattend international conferences.

ENGAGING WITH PARTNERS

• The Chile Initiative continues to thrive with steady collaborationbetween researchers, industry and students. Reciprocal fieldcourses were held in Chile and Oregon for OSU and Universidad Austral de Chile as students focused on forest ecosystems andsustainable management.

• The office partnered with college faculty to obtain grants tosupport student experiential learning and faculty research.The college received $25,000 in start-up funds from the 100,000 Strong Initiative for the Chile “Mountains to the Sea” field program and related student mobility ventures. The U.S. Embassyin Kuala Lumpur provided more than $20,000 in support of the “Oil Palms to Orangutans” program, covering the majority of in-country costs for program participants and providing a stipend tofour interns.

• Oregon timber and wood product executive leadership spent ten daysvisiting innovative wood manufacturing facilities and exploring the use ofmass timber in architecture. The trip was led by the college, the Universityof Oregon College of Design and Allyn Ford of Roseburg Forest Products.

• In fall 2018, a dean’s tour traveled to New Zealand to learn about exportmarkets and timber production.

OSU BECOMES A DESTINATION

• During the last two years, the college supported more than 150 exchange students, visiting interns, scholars and group members. Visitors conductedresearch, provided seminars and added substantially to the internationalperspectives represented throughout the college. This allows students theopportunity to hear first-hand about practices and policies across the world.

• In 2017, International Programs co-hosted a nursery and seedlingdevelopment study tour for the Moroccan High Commission on Water, Forests and Combating Desertification in conjunction with U.S. ForestService International. The group traveled around Central and WesternOregon to meet with peers and develop an understanding of plant and tree nursery management in our region.

• The college assists key partners, to bring international students to Oregon. In 2018 two Brazilian students interned at the Klamath Bird Observatory, and the college hosted its first student field program from the UniversidadAustral de Chile.

NEW, COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

• Oregon State along with the Oregon Zoo, the World Forestry Centerand other Portland-based nonprofits formed the Borneo Working Group,which seeks to connect Oregon with the state of Sabah in order to promotesustainable development and conservation of the flora and fauna of thisbiodiverse region.

• Matthew Betts formed the Forest Biodiversity Research Network tofurther the college’s mission to build a global forum for biodiversity and conservation in forest ecosystems.