REEES provides outreach programs for faculty and students from other higher education institutions throughout the Western Pennsylvania region and the nation. These include professional development workshops for faculty and annual conferences for graduate and undergraduate students.
The European and Eurasian Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual event designed to provide undergraduate students, from the University of Pittsburgh and other colleges and universities, with advanced research experiences and opportunities to develop presentation skills. Hosted by the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and the European Studies Center since 2002, the event is open to undergraduates from all majors and institutions who have written a research paper from a social science, humanities, or business perspective focusing on the study of Eastern Europe, the European Union, and Eurasia. The annual conference of the Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia invites graduate students from all disciplines to be a part of their vibrant conference. Each year, the conference examines a theme focusing on the regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. REEES also provides opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Pittsburgh and beyond through the REEESNe Network. Launched in December 2020 by Yale University’s The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Northeast Network (REEESNe) comprises over 30 institutions and individuals along the Northeast corridor and neighboring areas. REEESNe facilitates information sharing and collaboration to advance teaching and learning about the REEES area, offers annual student conferences and competitions, and organizes working groups with a primary focus on students at the undergraduate and master’s levels interested in pursuing a variety of careers in and on Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
For university students across the United States, REEES can provide information about the Slavic, East European, and Near Eastern Summer Language Institute (SLI), coordinated by the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. SLI provides domestic and study abroad opportunities to students interested in learning various regional languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Turkish, and others. In addition, REEES coordinates the University of Pittsburgh’s Project GO program, offering domestic and study abroad experiences for ROTC students interested in beginning through fourth-year Russian.
The UCIS Outreach Resources website houses ample variety of classroom-ready materials and resources to help educators in their efforts to internationalize their curricula. The site is searchable by world region, resource type, and intended grade/academic level to best meet their classroom needs.
As part of our continued cooperation with the Community College of Beaver County, UCIS academic centers offer CCBC faculty members course development grants each year. Another important element of this collaboration was the development of the Global Distinction micro credential which offers CCBC students the opportunity to deepen their global competencies and understanding and learn more about the world inside and outside the classroom by earning. To earn this micro credential, students complete 6 credits of qualifying courses, participate in one global intensive experience, and complete 10 hours of global activities, virtually or in-person.
REEES also hosted a national symposium in 2011 that led to the founding of the Committee for the Advocacy of Diversity and Inclusion (CADI) at the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). CADI was created by a vote of the ASEEES Board in 2018 in response to the need for a standing committee within the organization that can coordinate and guide ASEEES’s efforts both to diversify and to make more inclusive its membership and the broader field of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.In partnership with the European Studies Center, REEES provides funds to support summer study tours of Brussels for K-12 educators and faculty teaching at community colleges or minority serving (Title III- or Title V-eligible) institutions. The Brussels-Lux Study Tour program provides educators with the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experiences to further their understanding of Europe and the European Union.
The Engaging Eurasia Teacher Fellowship is a year-long study that offers high school and community college level educators the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the history, culture, and current events of Russia and Eurasia. This fellowship is generously funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI National Resource program. Sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University, the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, The Ohio State University, the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia, University of Wisconsin, and the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, University of Pittsburgh.
REEES provides funding for the NCTA Summer Study Tour: Heart of the Silk Roads. The NCTA GEEO study tour discovers the Heart of the Silk Roads and their connection to East Asia, as participants travel through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. They will experience a fascinating part of the world most travelers miss, while gaining a better understanding of how this region contributed to the cultural, economic, religious, and political ideas of our world and East Asia in particular. This program, which is managed through GEEO, is sponsored by the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), as the University of Pittsburgh coordinating site, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Asian Studies Center.