Perhaps more than any other field of study, STEM students need the global competencies gained during study abroad: the ability to work in diverse groups, to collaborate across cultures, and to problem-solve across disciplines.
ISI Florence is committed to confronting these challenges by providing a variety of STEM courses taught entirely in English in one of the most culturally and artistically rich destinations for study abroad: Florence, Italy. Students flourish in a safe, stimulating environment, savoring an exceptional educational experience in a truly exceptional city.
Physics students may choose one or more courses to fit their curricular needs and preferences or join the Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS) program.
Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS), with its careful academic design including visits to physics facilities across Europe, stands out as an increasingly successful Education Abroad program founded by the University of Maryland in collaboration with ISI Florence. In the historically and culturally rich physics epicenter that is Italy, students are able to expand their worldviews and gain critical cross-cultural skills that will inform their STEM career.
Ross Lewin, UMD Associate Vice President for International Affairs, explained how the rich resources and history of physics and math—and a number of famed physicists—made Florence a fitting destination for students studying physics. While there, students are able to enjoy site visits such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, the Galileo Museum, and the Gravitational Wave Observatory in Pisa.
The Maryland-in-Florence program at ISI Florence consists of a lab course, key physics and math courses, and an Italian course. Students also have the opportunity to take an elective, which many of them use toward an art history or art studio course. Students in the program during the 2022 Spring semester were able to choose between two tracks based on where they were with their UMD Physics degree—an effort to serve the needs of Senior students who required upper-level courses to meet degree requirements.
Spring 2022 Maryland-in-Florence student Ekaterina Poliakova-Georgantas took advantage of the new second track this spring, after her plans to study abroad earlier in her college career were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was originally supposed to study abroad the semester after COVID hit, but obviously that was not possible,” she said. “So the physics program added a second upper-level track, I think, so that students like me could still go.”
Dillon Walton, also a UMD student from the Spring 2022 program, remarked, “The physics lab in Florence was probably my personal favorite class while studying abroad. The room has a great view of the river Arno and I was given a personal desk in the lab so I could finish any additional work outside of normal class hours. It was a great learning experience that I will remember forever, and I recommend it to anyone interested in studying abroad.”
The Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS) program was developed by Lewin and Betsy Beise, Associate Provost for Academic Planning and Programs.
After gathering physics faculty, administrators, and advisors to conceptualize the program, Beise tapped Professor Luis Orozco to teach the students in Florence. The program is one of the few Maryland semester programs with UMD faculty on site. Poliakova-Georgantas, a junior Physics and Math double major, attributed her appreciation for the program to Orozco.
“Professor Orozco was a magnificent professor,” said Poliakova-Georgantas. “He was incredibly knowledgeable about various areas in physics, not just his own, and he really cares about students’ learning—so he’s pretty rigorous in everything that he teaches and is very passionate about it.”
Since Fall 2018 (the first time this track was offered) Orozco has taught six courses at ISI Florence. For this reason, he also serves as something of a regional expert to students in the program.
“He really loves Florence. It’s his favorite city on earth—he goes to the Uffizi Gallery like every week,” Poliakova-Georgantas said. “He would send out emails of his favorite things to see in Florence, his favorite things to see in Uffizi, and what he loved so much about everything he was telling us about. It was kind of like having a local there, with Professor Orozco.”
She also credited Orozco with providing students access to Pisa’s Gravitational Wave Observatory this spring, a trip that was integrated into the curriculum of the physics students when the CERN site visit was canceled due to COVID-19.
“His connections are what got us into the Virgo interferometer, which was insane,” she explained. “He managed to work his magic so that we could go. It was an amazing trip.”
ISI Florence provides faculty to teach physics and math; among them are world-renowned physicists.
“It often happens that one can be a great scholar but a poor teacher or maybe a great teacher but not a scholar at all,” said Stefano Baldassarri, Director of ISI Florence. “When we select our faculty we try to bring together those two components.”
A common emphasis at ISI Florence is the potential to network for students, showing them the world of physics as researchers and lab members working alongside professional physicists.
“When you teach physics, it’s very important to speak with students, not only as a professor, but as a colleague, or as a friend,” said Emanuele Tognelli, ISI Florence professor of mathematics and physicist.
“It is also useful to introduce our colleagues to students and invite colleagues to discuss something different,” Tognelli explained. “We have connections with a lot of experts who can discuss different fields of physics with our students.”
The Maryland-in-Florence program was carefully developed between the UMD Physics department, the UMD Education Abroad, and ISI Florence to design tracks that offer global learning in ways that meet students’ degree needs. A key feature of the program is its assurance that students will be able to take the courses that they need abroad, without needing to reevaluate their major or degree plan.
“I think that’s an important message,” Beise said. “That you can make this work without compromising the campus program for learning opportunities for students.”
Poliakova-Georgantas emphasized the importance of STEM majors taking courses abroad, not only to experience the study of physics in a new environment, but also to develop cultural competence and familiarity with people of different backgrounds.
“I think STEM is a very international kind of venture, especially when it comes to physics,” Poliakova-Georgantas said. “There’s something to be said about having laboratories all over the earth, like the one we visited –- it’s one of several facilities that work in the same way, to take the same measurements. And so, because of this international aspect to physics in particular, it’s important to know how to interact with people of other cultures.”
SOURCE:
READ HERE the original article “Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS) Displays Successful International Collaboration and Enriching STEM Curriculum Abroad” May 24, 2022 | By Sara Wiatrak
Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS) Program Application for UMD students
Applications are currently open to apply to Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS) for the Spring 2023 term. To get started, students can schedule a meeting with Physics advisor Tom Gleason or EA advisor Lindsey Sitler.
Click here for Applications from Institutions other than UMD
