Reprieve For Foreign Students’ Training Program
BU IN DC
Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters attended the Universities Research Association meeting on January 27.
Anthony Janetos of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and Nathan Phillips of the College of Arts & Sciences attended the National Council for Science and the Environment’s annual conference between January 19 and 21.
Virginia Sapiro of the College of Arts & Sciences participated in the Scholar Summit hosted by the Congressional Commission on a National Women’s History Museum on January 26.
REPRIEVE FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS’ TRAINING PROGRAM
On Saturday, a federal judge granted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) an additional 90 days to continue its optional practical training (OPT) program for international students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The program allows foreign students with STEM degrees to request an additional 17 months to work in the United States beyond the 12 months available to all foreign students. The regulations governing STEM OPT were set to expire on February 12, after being invalidated by a court last year, leaving the program’s fate up in the air. DHS is currently developing the regulations for an updated version of the program.
Learn more
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Education has begun to update its Forecast of Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2016, providing early notice of when its grant competitions will open, when applications will be due, and how much grant funding is expected to be awarded. For example, the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad application notice is expected to be posted this month, applications will likely be due in mid-March, and the Department anticipates making 90 awards. The Forecast is regularly updated throughout the year as the Department readies its grant competitions.
See the Department’s grant forecast
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
BU Research is again hosting its popular Research on Tap series, bringing researchers together for three-minute microtalks on their scholarship. The gatherings are curated by different faculty members and are followed by wine and cheese receptions that allow investigators to meet potential research collaborators. In February, Research on Tap will feature:
- Across Boundaries: Research on Migration Across Disciplines on February 4
- Drug Repurposing and Reformulation: Opportunities, Risks, and Challenges on February 22
Research on Tap is open to faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars.