Global Beacon Experience Opens Doors to Global Learning for UMass Boston Students
Twenty-two UMass Boston students participated this summer in the inaugural Global Beacon Experience, a fully funded, 12-day educational program in Ireland and Northern Ireland that is designed to advance educational access, student success, and global career readiness. For students who may never have had the opportunity to study abroad, the program opened a door to international education that might otherwise have remained out of reach.
For every student in the inaugural cohort, the experience represented their first passport and first trip outside the United States.
The cohort included 76.1% U.S. students of color, 85.7% first-generation college students, and 100% Pell Grant recipients—demographics that substantially exceed those of UMass Boston’s historical study abroad participants.
“This milestone reflects UMass Boston’s commitment to making international education more accessible to students who have historically faced barriers to these opportunities. The inaugural cohort demonstrates what is possible when barriers to global learning are intentionally removed,” said Executive Director of Global Programs and Senior International Officer Shaun Morgan. “International education can serve as a powerful strategy for advancing educational equity while preparing students with the global perspectives, cultural agility, and professional competencies increasingly demanded by today's workforce.”
Students lived and learned on partner university campuses and engaged with faculty, researchers, employers, entrepreneurs, community organizations, and civic leaders. Students were able to spend time with the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, meet privately with the Lord Mayor of Belfast at Belfast City Hall, and again with the Lord Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District Council at Derry Guild Hall.
Students also met with various business industries from Enterprise Ireland at a roundtable at their headquarters in Dublin and participated in a daylong visit to Rapid7 in Belfast, where they had an entrepreneur roundtable with various leaders of the company, including UMass Boston alumnus Tommy Fee who is living and working in Belfast. They also visited the nonprofit, North West Migrant Forum in Derry, led by the former mayor of Derry, Cllr. Lilian Seenoi-Barr, who started the nonprofit to support migrants in the region of Northern Ireland. STEM students also were able to visit various laboratories in Galway and Dublin to talk with lead researchers about their careers and the breath of research opportunities available to them. They also participated in structured reflection activities tied to nationally recognized career readiness competencies.
“The Global Beacon Experience is not simply a study abroad program; it is a comprehensive student success initiative that uses international experiential learning to advance educational equity, career readiness, and institutional excellence,” said Michael Metzger, assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
The experience brought together UMass Boston’s Office of Global Programs, Student Affairs, Student Equity, Access and Success, Career Services, faculty, and peer mentors to provide a level of intentional support that reflects both the needs and strengths of UMass Boston's diverse student population.
The inaugural experience also strengthened UMass Boston’s international partnerships with leading universities across Ireland and Northern Ireland, and created new opportunities for student mobility, faculty collaboration, research engagement, and external partnerships.
The Office of Global Programs is currently planning the 2027 cohort while pursuing philanthropic support and external grant funding to expand the program’s long-term sustainability and impact. Future iterations could include experiences aligned with individual academic colleges, expanded faculty engagement, additional donor-supported scholarships, and new international partnerships.
“The Global Beacon Experience has the potential to become a defining feature of the UMass Boston student experience and a national model for equitable international experiential learning,” Morgan said.