Two 2010 GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Interns Helped Design Solar-Efficient Home

Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand’s capital city, made it to the top finishers’ podium with its First Light house, which took third place out of 20 university teams competing Sept. 23-Oct. 2 in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

The Meridian First Light House, a solar decathlon entry from Victoria University of Wellington, won third place overall.

As the only entry from the southern hemisphere, the New Zealand team’s solar efficient house won third place for its combined total points in 10 separate competitions measuring everything from hot water output to engineering to home entertainment. Created through Victoria University of Wellington’s Department of Architecture and Design, the team worked for more than two and a half years on the house and for a time included two U.S. students who interned with the department in 2010 through international education program provider GlobaLinks Learning Abroad.

Those individuals are Nicole Chisholm, a environmental and forestry student at SUNY who completed a internship in New Zealand in 2010, and John Fandrey, a University of Missouri – Columbia student who also interned at the university in 2010.

Every two years since 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition has taken place in Washington D.C., showcasing a working display of energy innovation in action.

One of the most ambitious and inspiring events in the U.S., it challenges 20 university teams, through a series of 10 contests, to demonstrate inventive clean-energy solutions by building solar-powered houses that feature cost-effective, energy-efficient construction and incorporate energy-saving appliances and renewable energy systems.

The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. This year, the winner was the University of Maryland, with Purdue University coming in second and Victoria University of Wellington coming in third with 919 out of 1,000 points, just a few points behind the winner.

“While we may not have won overall we are incredibly proud to have represented New Zealand on the world stage,” said team member Nick Officer in a press release posted on the New Zealand team’s web site. “We had such and amazing response from the U.S. public here along with supporters back home.”

The New Zealand team’s First Light house is inspired by the traditional New Zealand holiday home—the “Kiwi bach.” First Light’s design reflects a relaxed lifestyle in which socializing and connecting with the outdoors are central to living. At the heart of the design is a glazed central section that functions as a bridge between exterior and interior. A cedar canopy supports the solar array, which produces hot water and generates energy to power the house.

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In Part 5 of this five-part Q&A series, Cynthia Banks shares her thoughts on the most important issues facing the international education field and study abroad trends. Read the entire series here.

Q: What are the most important issues needing attention right now in the international education field and why?

A: Funding, funding and funding. Many students go to college in places where the tuition is very low, where families have taken out mortgages or loans, and even with all of the implements available to study abroad, they can’t cover the cost of being overseas. It’s a burden.

I think there are a lot of deserving students, like minority students, first-generation students, those attending community colleges, or just those who lived on the wrong side of the tracks but finally got to go to college.

I think education abroad can develop our workforce in the United States. With diversity and all the myriad types of people of the United States in mind, we have to give those students the same opportunities as those who already have the money to go. Someone has to speak on his or her behalf.

Another important issue is students who do not study abroad for fear of all kinds of things, such as academic progress not being met, or they have other interests, such as playing on an athletic team, that seem to pose barriers. I think education abroad needs to tackle these fears and look at who is not going rather than looking at who is going.

Those who are studying abroad are the adventurers who already have the directed interest. These are the 262,000 who already planned to go overseas. What about the other million who aren’t able to study abroad? Until we address the needs of those who don’t have international education opportunities, I think we are just preaching to the choir. We can’t send students for free, but I think we can go a long way to addressing this huge gap.

We as nation should be a nation of leaders. That said, universities are doing a lot more to open the eyes of the students to education abroad. They really are trying hard to put it into the preview days, make it a part of the curriculum, and overall make it a normal part of the college career. The more students study abroad within a college culture, the more normal it gets.

Q: What do you envision as the most significant changes to come in the next 20 years in international education?

A: On the very broadest scale, global mobility will be the future. Global mobility is not Americans studying abroad somewhere. It is not Chinese students studying abroad somewhere. It is everybody studying everywhere. It means a student’s education does not have to be limited to the country in which he or she grew up. The borders are disappearing. The Internet has opened doors, and people are more open to creating systems that are more inviting. This is for international education as a whole.

Cynthia Banks, GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Founder and Executive Director.

I think study abroad in particular is going to be more mainstreamed into the curriculum than it ever has been. Universities are going to start formally inserting study abroad into a student’s curriculum path because it is the only way to ensure it fits into a student’s progress toward graduation.

This is happening in a few places. It will happen in more. Once you get the faculty to support education abroad as part of students’ graduation stream, that’s where that next wave of students will come from.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t asked about?

A: I would like to congratulate all the professionals in our field who are working so diligently to create, maintain and build education abroad across the nation.  I am thankful for the pioneers who came before us who paved the path toward making education abroad a mainstay in higher education. It is a vibrant time in history, and education abroad plays a key role in our government’s mindset as well as the motivations of our students. I encourage us all to reach new heights and work together to make this next decade a meaningful one for our great nation.

This concludes our five-part Q&A with Cynthia Banks. Missed Parts 1, 2, 3 or 4? Find them here.

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1. Hot Topic: Curriculum Integration
2. Q&A Part 3: Leadership Principles and Work-Life Lessons
3. Q&A Part 4: Defining A Successful Study Abroad Experience

CCF Newsletter: College Students Study Abroad, Offset Travel Emissions!

Colorado Carbon Fund

In today’s dynamic working environment, accountability and outcomes matter more than ever. GlobaLinks Study Abroad understands this and has incorporated this belief into its culture and values. Supporting the Colorado Carbon Fund for over 3years, GlobaLinks takes pride in accounting for its environmental impact. Its most recent donation is proof of this. “We donate $1.00 for each online evaluation filled out by a participant at the end of his/her time abroad. It’s an incentive for the students to take 15 minutes to complete the online form”, says Deborah Morrison, director of marketing for GlobaLinks. The CCF recently sat down with Deborah to gain more insight into the success that GlobaLinks Learning Abroad has had while staying environmentally conscious.

Read entire article here.

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1. Blog Action Day 2009: Colorado Carbon Fund Meets Climate Change Challenge Head On
2. Donation from GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Helps Offset Carbon Emissions from College Study Abroad Travel
3. GlobaLinks Learning Abroad In The News

GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, a leading provider of study abroad programs across the globe, today announced its latest donation to the Colorado Carbon Fund to help green student travel overseas. The Colorado Carbon Fund, a program of the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO), is the nation’s first statewide carbon offsetting program.

Colorado Carbon Fund

GlobaLinks Learning Abroad has supported the Colorado Carbon Fund since 2006 to encourage students to offset emissions from air travel, as well as build on several existing green initiatives for students studying abroad. The company makes a regular contribution to the Colorado Carbon Fund for each student evaluation form it receives.

“The impact of our most recent donation is amazing when you consider that $312 can offset 15.6 metric tons of CO2e,” said Cynthia Banks, founder and executive director of GlobaLinks Learning Abroad. “To date, our organization has donated nearly $1,000 to CCF, which in more tangible terms represents the CO2e emissions from 5,354 gallons of gas or the carbon sequestered from 1,221 tree seedlings grown for ten years.”

GlobaLinks Learning Abroad chose to support the Colorado Carbon Fund because it supports clean energy projects developed in Colorado. Portland, Ore.-based Climate Trust, one of the country’s most experienced offset project developers, is a third-party organization helping to select and manage Colorado’s offset projects, which include methane capture at farms or solar water heating for recreation centers.

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Rotating House Outside Wingham, New South Wales, Turning Heads Throughout the World For Design

There aren’t many homes in which you can catch both the sunrise and sunset from the same spot on your porch, but the Everingham Rotating House in Australia makes it possible to chase the sunlight through the day.

The home, completed in 2006, continues to generate headlines throughout the world for its rotating design.

Situated about 40 kilometres from Wingham, New South Wales, in the hinterland of the Manning Valley on the Nowendoc River, theEveringham Rotating House is a 24-meter in diameter octagon with a 3-meter, 360-degree veranda. The exterior walls are mostly glass and steel, and it has a COLORBOND® roof.

The entire structure, weighing approximately 50 tons, rotates up to 360-degrees if and when desired, within a 18- degree retainer wall and a 180-degree fixed deck and railing.

Built largely of glass and steel, and powered by an electric motor not much bigger than a washing machine motor, the Everingham Rotating House encapsulates many aspects of ecologically sound building principles, such as optimizing natural light and heat, while rotating 360° to take advantage of sunshine and shade at different times of the day and year.

The video above explains the benefits of the design.

Korea Says “No” to Plastic Bags and “Yes” to Smoke-Free Public Places

As part of efforts to reinforce eco-friendly consumer culture, five major supermarket chains in Korea including E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus have stopped selling plastic bags. Shopers must now bring their own bags.

In addition, a newly revised legislative bill under the National Health Promotion Law will prohibit smoking starting March in public spots including bus stations, parks, streets, and school zones (within a 200-meter radius of schools). Those found smoking in these prohibited areas will be fined up to 100,000 won.

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Tiffany Hungerford Explains What’s All In a Day for Tim Tam: Sleeping, Eating and Training for Photos

Tim Tam's Keeper, Tiffany Hungerford, describes what it's like working with the AustraLearn koala.

Tim Tam, the koala adopted by the AustraLearn study abroad program, is having an exciting first year as she grows, eats, sleeps and trains.

Recently, AustraLearn Operations Manager, Russell Hosp, interviewed Tim Tam’s keeper, Tiffany Hungerford, at Rainforestation Nature Park in Cairns, Australia.

Here’s what Hungerford had to say.

Q:What inspired you to work with Koalas?

A: They all have really different personalities. Tim Tam is so relaxed and playful. A lot of the time, we’ll come in and she’ll be playing around with Pavlova (the Koala Tim Tam shares the habitat with).

Q: What exactly does a Koala handler do?

A: We’re responsible for doing the koala photos and feeding the animals. When it’s not busy, we look after the wildlife park. For example, today’s not busy, so we’re painting.

Q: What background is needed?

A: I did a trainee-ship that Rainforestation had advertised. I started about three years ago, and I really enjoy it. Before that, I worked at Hartley’s Crocodile Farm.

Q: What has been your biggest accomplishment?

A: Since I’ve been here, we’ve managed to breed seven koalas, which is pretty exciting.

Q: Can you describe a normal day for Tim Tam?

Tim Tam grows bigger by the day.

A: She sleeps between 18 and 20 hours a day, and when she’s not sleeping, she’s either eating or training to do koala photos for our visitors. Also, she loves to play with Pavlova. It’s really cute how playful the koalas are when they’re smaller, and they all have such personalities.

Q: How is Tim Tam getting used to taking Koala Photos?

A: She’s getting on really well, mostly because she’s got such a good personality. You can tell when she’s getting tired because she won’t cling on to the person in the photo—she’ll kind of push away. She works two-at-a-time with Pavlova, and we try to work them only 30 minutes at a time, though mostly Tim Tam will do 15 minutes, and then switch with Pavlova.

Q: Are there plans to have Tim Tam start breeding soon?

A: Not just yet. Koalas are generally ready to start breeding after about two years. Tim Tam is almost a year and a half, and we generally like our girls to be a bit older and a bit bigger, because both our boys are quite big.

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1. AustraLearn Koala Update: It’s A Girl!
2. Koala Update: “Tim Tam” Debuts From Mom’s Pouch, Strikes A Pose

International Greening Education Event 2010: October 27-29 in Karlsruhe, Germany

Etech Education for Sustainability will host this three-day event that explores how to engage students in creating a sustainable world. This conference will discuss climate change and how it is reshaping the education sector; share best practices, case studies, models, experiences, lessons learned and innovative methods to green education; and highlight skills that employers will be increasingly seeking, among other topics. E-mail mail@etechgermany.com for more information and registration forms.

World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day: December 3, 2010

The World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day titled “Sustainable Development: working toward local solutions to a global challenge” will give university lecturers and their students the chance to examine some key sustainability-related issues. The goal of the teach-in is to disseminate information on the concept, aims, and purposes of sustainable development so that it can be understood by a broad public, and will include elements relating to its environmental, social, economic, and policy aspects, and to raise awareness among university students on the complexity of matters related to sustainable development and the need for personal engagement and action. Participating university staff/lecturers and teachers will be encouraged to get their students involved in working through a set of five guiding questions that are pertinent to their discipline. They will be supplied with a list of suggested questions in advance and encouraged to hand them out to their students in order to prepare for the discussions and provide them with guidance. Registration is now available.

University of Adelaide Building Receives Green Star Design Rating

The University of Adelaide‘s (Australia) new Innova21 building has received the Green Building Council of Australia’s 6 Star Green Star Design – Education v1 environmental rating. The nine-level Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences facility features active slab technology (hydronic cooling loops within the concrete floor) combined with an underground air distribution system that utilizes 100 percent fresh air ventilation. Rainwater is collected through an underground rainwater harvesting system and stored for use in the building’s cooling towers for toilet flushing and irrigation. The building also features a Building Management System to reduce energy consumption.

University of Queensland Installs Solar Facility

The University of Queensland (Australia) has partnered with solar company Ingenero to develop and install a flat panel solar facility. Projects will include rooftop installation and a ground-mounted solar array. The combination will provide clean energy to the university as well as a training and research platform. The 1.2-megawatt solar system will spread across four rooftops.

U New South Wales Announces Electric Car Fleet

The University of New South Wales (Australia) has committed to an electric vehicle fleet as part of a research and infrastructure agreement. Electric vehicle provider, Better Place, will provide charge spots and additional services to support the fleet in a new solar precinct to be established by the university. The university will also begin research to investigate the impact that charging significant numbers of electric cars will have on Australia’s power grid. New solar panel arrays will generate most of the energy needed for an electrical vehicle fleet.

Macquarie U Wins Green Globe Award

Macquarie University (Australia) recently won a Green Globe Award from the New South Wales government, which celebrates sustainable uses of natural resources and leadership in tackling climate change. The university’s blueprint for sustainability received a Public Sector Sustainability Award in the category of people, plant and participation. In addition to operating as a fair trade campus, the university’s sustainability initiatives include a recycling program that uses 100 percent recycled paper and diverts 70 percent of its waste from landfills; green cleaning, IT and e-waste policies; and a sustainability website, committee and campus tours

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Waikato University: Sustainable Features Garner Student Centre Green Award

University of Otago: Research On Rare Whales Underway

The Polaris II Is the vessel is the site of research on rare whales by scientists at the University of Otago. Photo, Courtesy University of Otago.

The University of Otago is leading a major three-year scientific research project aiming to find vital information, which could see rare southern right whales flourishing once again in New Zealand coastal waters, according to a university news article.

An 11-person team of Otago University, Department of Conservation, Otago Museum and Massey University scientists and staff left late last month for the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands – 460km South of New Zealand – aboard the University’s Marine Science research vessel, Polaris II. They will be based at Port Ross on the Islands for three weeks, and planned to return this week.

The group is studying for the first time the winter diet of the critically endangered New Zealand sea lion on the Islands, which is home to the largest breeding colonies of the mammals.

Expedition leader and Department of Marine Science Research Fellow Dr. Will Rayment says for the first time acoustic recordings are being taken of the sounds made by southern right whales. Researchers are also studying and photographing the whales’ population and habitat.

In recent years, growing numbers of southern right whales have been noticed in and around the pristine waters of the Auckland Islands. Researchers now want to ascertain the factors that  make the habitat so favorable for the whales, and also which environmental factors could potentially hinder their recovery.

Before whaling began in the early nineteenth century, southern right whales were abundant in harbors and coastal New Zealand waters. But because they preferred inshore areas and were slow swimming and easy to kill, coastal whaling groups found them profitable to hunt.

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AsiaLearn Video Blogger Gives Glimpses Of Life at Sichuan University

In new videos posted this month, Lauren Lowe of the University of South Carolina-Columbia gives insight into academics and accommodations during her spring semester at Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

“I comprised this video of student interviews because I think that is the best thing to get other students ready for a semester or year abroad at Sichuan University,” says Lowe, AsiaLearn’s spring 2010 video blogger. “My friends included all the information they would have liked to know before their study abroad experience.”

To see all of Lauren’s videos, visit the AsiaLearn YouTube channel.

Mike Condon’s Photo Garners Winning Entry In This Year’s Alumni Photo Competition

Mike Condon - Best of Category: Landmark/Favorite Place - Sunset over Nadi, Fiji

Congratulations to Mike Condon whose photograph of a sunset over Nadi, Fiji, won the 2010 GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Alumni Photo Contest.

For his winning entry, Mike receives a Flip camera and the title of Grand Prize Winner for the 2010 GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Alumni Photo contest.

Swansea University Students’ Union Earns Environmental Recognition

The Swansea University Students’ Union has achieved silver standard in this year’s Sound Environmental Impact Awards.

The awards are run by the National Union of Students (NUS) and aim to encourage environmentalism and green innovation in students’ unions.

This is the third year the students’ union has competed in the awards.

“The students’ union has made a big commitment to reducing our environmental impact,” said Raechel Mattey, societies and services officer, “and I’m really pleased with the result.”

Eighty three unions across the UK took part, with Swansea recording an above average score.

On previous attempts, Swansea was accredited with working towards the award. But after making a number of green changes, this year was a success.

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Movement Born in Australia Encourages People Across Globe To Conserve Energy for One Hour Saturday – Wherever You Are

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, at 8:30 pm, GlobaLinks Learning Abroad will take part in an inspiring event in the fight against climate change — Earth Hour, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund.

By simply turning off all non-essential lighting for one hour, GlobaLinks Learning Abroad and its AustraLearn / AsiaLearn / EuroLearn study abroad programs will join tens of millions of concerned citizens and corporations throughout the world in calling for action to save the planet for future generations.

History of Earth Hour

Since its inception in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour has grown from a single-city initiative to a sweeping global action. Hundreds of millions of people in over 4,100 cities and towns across 88 countries participated in Earth Hour 2009 in what was the greatest voluntary action in history. Some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, such as the Pyramids in Egypt, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Acropolis in Athens and even the lights of the Las Vegas strip went dark.

Adding to this list, many more of the world’s most iconic landmarks have pledged to switch off for Earth Hour 2010 including: The Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower, Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Sydney Opera House, London Eye, Brandenburg Gate, Tokyo Tower, Table Mountain, CN Tower, Mount Rushmore, Tapei 101, Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge, and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Did you know?

• Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.
• Last year, 80 million Americans and 318 U.S. cities officially voted for action with their light switch, joining iconic landmarks from around the world that went dark for Earth Hour.

What Individuals Can Do

GlobaLinks Learning Abroad has long believed it has a responsibility to operate in a responsible manner and in ways that don’t deplete the world’s limited natural resources.  In keeping with that, the organization invites everyone to share ideas for ways to reduce their environmental footprint.

For more information, sign up to join the movement.

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