Season’s Greetings from UMAP!

Season’s Greetings from UMAP!

A very fruitful and productive year of 2019 has almost come to an end. Let us take a look on what UMAP has achieved throughout the year.

New UMAP Member Institutions

• Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Macau, and the United States have officially become UMAP’s Full Member countries this year.

New UMAP Promotional Video and Twitter Account

• UMAP has published a new promotional video to attract more students and institutions across the globe to join our network in the future.
• UMAP has created a new social media account in Twitter (@UMAP_ORG).

Revised UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) System Manual

• With the newly established USCO System, UMAP has published a revised USCO System Manual for both students and institutions.

UMAP Discovery Camp 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan (August 4 – August 17)

• Organized by Ministry of Education, UMAP Taiwan National Secretariat, Fu Jen Catholic University
• 36 international students from 9 countries participated in the summer program to engage in a journey to learn more about Taiwan in an international environment.

UMAP-COIL Joint Honors Program (August 4 – August 23)

• Organized by the Institute for Innovative Global Education (IIGE), Kansai University, and UMAP International Secretariat
• 16 international students from 6 countries participated in a Peace Boat cruise, that docked at various ports in Japan, South Korea, and Russia, to take part in Sustainable Development Goals and peace-themed fieldwork, cultural activities, and events.

UMAP Research Net

• The final report of the selected UMAP Research Net 2018 has been uploaded to the website. The report is titled “Development of Students’ Readiness for the ‘Life-in-the-Real-World’ through Working with Peers and Problem-Based Learning”

These achievements would not have been possible without the active participation and generous support from UMAP National Secretariats, member universities and students all over the world. We would like to express our sincerest appreciation for your active participation and generous support in making these achievements possible. We look forward to continued success with you in the coming year.

We wish you a peaceful holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

(Kindly note that UMAP International Secretariat will be closed from December 25 through January 5 for the New Year holidays. Our office will resume on January 6)

Selected UMAP Research Net 2018 Report

The final project report for the UMAP Research Net 2018 has been uploaded. The details are as follow:

Title:
Development of students’ readiness for the ‘life-in-the-real-world’ through working with peers and problem-based learning.

Principal Researcher:
Rowena P. Varela (Professor and Vice President for Research and Extension, Caraga State University)

Member Researcher:
Prof. Yoshikazu Yoshida (Professor and Director for Inoue Enryo Research Center, Toyo University)

Asso. Prof. Dr Ramesh K S @ Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan (Associate Professor and Director, UTM Centre for Student Innovation & Technology Entrepreneurship, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)

Click here to access the report.

Start of Student Application for the 1st Cycle of Program A&B 2020-1 (Fall/Autumn 2020)

Dear Students who plan to apply for UMAP Program A&B 2020-1 (for Fall/Autumn Semester 2020),

We are pleased to announce that the first cycle of student applications for Program A&B 2020-1 (Fall/Autumn 2020 study abroad programs) has started today. If you are interested in participating in one of these programs, please review the information on the website (https://usco.umap.org) about the programs’ contents, length, available credits, language requirement, and fees before applying.

Students of those institutions that participate in the 1st cycle of this program are able to apply for programs offered by other participating institutions. The list of eligible universities/institutions can be checked by clicking this link here.

All transactions in the application procedure, such as submission of student applications, nominations by home universities/institutions, and acceptance or refusal by host institutions, will be completed using the UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) System.

To apply, the following three steps need to be completed by January 6th 2020:

REGISTRATION — Students should create an account on the UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) System by registering their email address and password (https://usco.umap.org/std/). For more information about the USCO System, students can check the Student User Manual through this link (http://umap.org/usco/#students-manual). 

APPLICATION — Students complete the Application Form in the USCO System for up to five preferred programs by filling out necessary items and click “Save and Submit”. The USCO System will automatically inform the UMAP coordinators at the home university/institution that an application has been submitted. The nomination deadline for UMAP Coordinators at your home institution is January 6th 2020; therefore, you need to submit your application according to the adapted schedule of your home institution.

NOMINATION — Coordinators log into the USCO System and check the applications they have received, and nominate up to two students by clicking “Approve as Program A”. Nomination should be completed by January 6th 2020.

If they would like to nominate more than two students, please refer to the below notes.

For more information on USCO System, please refer to the User Manual (http://umap.org/usco/#institutions-manual).

Please note;
1.  For Program A-Tuition waived exchange students: Institutions can nominate up to two (2) students per semester; however, institutions that have accepted additional students in the past are able to nominate additional students according to their Quota.

2.  For Program B-Tuition non-waived exchange students: Institutions can also nominate additional students for Program B if they do not have Quotas available for nominating them additionally for Program A. Following the placement period, host institutions notify accepted students about whether they will study abroad on a tuition-waived or non-waived basis.

If you have any questions about the application procedure, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to receiving additional applications!

Welcome Message from National Secretariat of USA

Welcome Message from National Secretariat of Australia

Check out this video below from Prof. Seth Kunin of Curtin University, the National Secretariat of Australia!

Start of Student Application for the 1st Cycle of Program C (Short-term summer programs 2020)

Dear Students who plan to apply for UMAP Program C 2020,

We are pleased to announce that the first cycle of student applications for Programs C 2020 has started today. Program C is short-term (one to eight-week long) programs offered by UMAP Participating universities/institutions. Programs are generally offered between June and September, and are available in a wide range of disciplines: cultural studies, language proficiency courses, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and more.

If you are interested in participating in one of these programs, please review the information on the website ( https://usco.umap.org ) about the programs’ contents, length, available credits, language requirement and fees before applying.

This year UMAP operates three cycles for Program C and each university/institution offer their programs depending upon their schedules of courses. You need to check in which cycle(s) of application period, your preferred programs are offered. And please note that you are required to be nominated by your home institution in order to apply for programs. The application period of each cycle for both you and UMAP Coordinators at your home institution is as follows;

From 18 November to 2 December 2019 (deadline)  (for the 1^st Cycle)
From 6 February to 25 February 2020 (deadline)     (for the 2^nd Cycle)
From 13 April to 22 May 2020 (deadline)                   (for the 3^rd Cycle)

Therefore, you need to submit your application according to the adapted schedule of your home institution. For the acceptance of students’ applications, the following THREE STEPS must be completed:

REGISTRATION — Students should create an account on the UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) System by registering their email address and password ( https://usco.umap.org/std/ ). For more information about the USCO System, students can check the Student User Manual through this link; http://umap.org/usco/#students-manual  

APPLICATION — Students complete the Application Form in the USCO System for up to three preferred programs and click “Save and Submit”. The USCO System will automatically inform the UMAP coordinators at the home university/institution that an application has been submitted. Applications will be accepted by 2 December 2019 (for the 1^st Cycle), 25 February 2020 (for the 2^nd Cycle) and 22 May 2020 (for the 3^rd Cycle).

NOMINATION — Coordinators log into the USCO System and check the applications they have received, and nominate them by clicking “Approve”.   

Please note;

1. Only students of universities/institutions that have signed the “Pledge of Agreement” are able to apply for those programs. And home universities/institutions are required to register their Coordinators Information as well as Institution Information on USCO System. To check whether your home institution is eligible or not, please search the following link; https://usco.umap.org/std/unv_join/?nav_flg=1
   
   
2. Unlike Program A&B, their home universities/institutions do not have to participate or offer this program in order for the students to apply for this specific program.
   
   
3. There are no limits for the number of nominees from home universities/institutions.
   
   
4. We only accept applications with nomination (applications that are approved) from home universities/institutions.
   
   
5. For the schedule of application, nomination and approval, please refer to the Timeline of each cycle of the USCO System; https://usco.umap.org/std/unv_period/?nav_flg=1

We look forward to receiving many applications.

Revised UCTS Users’ Guide

We would like to announce a newly revised UMAP Credit Transfer Scheme  (UCTS) User Guide. 
The document is available for download here: http://umap.org/ucts/

Below are some of the key points in the revised UCTS Users’ Guide:

• Change of application procedure by the introduction of a new online system, the UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) system.
• Revision of “Introduction a”, which has been rewritten by Dr. Hotta adding historical explanation of UCTS and its relationship with the newly introduced Asian Academic Credits (AACs).
• The sample for “Pledge of Agreement” has been updated with a new version.

Start of Student Application for the 2nd Cycle of Program A&B 2019-2 (Spring 2020)

Dear Students who plan to apply for UMAP Program A&B 2019-2 (for Spring Semester 2020)

We are pleased to announce that the second cycle of student applications for Program A&B 2019-2 (Spring 2020 study abroad programs) has started. If you are interested in participating in one of these programs, please review the information on the website (https://usco.umap.org) about the programs’ contents, length, available credits, language requirement, and fees before applying.

Students of those institutions that participate in the 2nd cycle are able to apply for programs offered by other participating institutions. The list of eligible universities/institutions can be checked from this link (here).

Beginning the previous program, all transactions in the application procedure, such as submission of student applications, nominations by home universities/institutions, and acceptance or refusal by host institutions, have been completed using the UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) System.

To apply, the following three steps need to be completed by September 19th, 2019:

REGISTRATION — Students should create an account on the UMAP Student Connection Online (USCO) System by registering their email address and password (https://usco.umap.org/std/). For more information about the USCO System, students can check the Student User Manual through this link (http://umap.org/usco/#students-manual). 

APPLICATION — Students complete the Application Form in the USCO System for up to five preferred programs by filling out necessary items and click “Save and Submit”. The USCO System will automatically inform the UMAP coordinators at the home university/institution that an application has been submitted. The nomination deadline for UMAP Coordinators at your home institution is September 19th 2019; therefore, you need to submit your application according to the adapted schedule of your home institution.

NOMINATION — Coordinators log into the USCO System and check the applications they have received, and nominate up to two students by clicking “Approve as Program A”. Nomination should be completed by September 19th 2019.
If they would like to nominate more than two students, please refer to the below notes.

For more information on USCO System, please refer to the User Manual (http://umap.org/usco/#institutions-manual).

Please note;
1.  For Program A-Tuition waived exchange students: Institutions can nominate up to two (2) students per semester; however, institutions that have accepted additional students in the past are able to nominate additional students according to their Quota.

2.  For Program B-Tuition non-waived exchange students: Institutions can also nominate additional students for Program B if they do not have Quotas available for nominating them additionally for Program A. Following the placement period, host institutions notify accepted students about whether they will study abroad on a tuition-waived or non-waived basis.

If you have any questions about the application procedure, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to receiving additional applications!

New Full Membership Country: USA

USA has recently become a Full Member of UMAP.

・National Secretariat: James Madison University
・Contact: Mrs. Taryn Roberts　
・Position: Director of Study Abroad at the Center for Global Engagement
・Institution: James Madison University
・Address: 100 E. Grace St., MSC 5731, Harrisonburg, VA 22807
・Email: robertte@jmu.edu
・Website: https://www.jmu.edu/global/

All accredited public and private institutions in USA will now be eligible to participate in UMAP Exchange Programs once they sign up as a participating university with the UMAP International Secretariat.

Procedures on how to join UMAP can be found in the following link:
http://umap.org/prospective-members/

We look forward to welcoming you to our network!