Notre Dame Global in Photos: February 2026 | News | Notre Dame Beijing

February offered a clear snapshot of the reach of Notre Dame’s global engagement. Alumni leaders gathered in Mexico to deepen connections across Latin America, while conversations and visits in Hong Kong and across India highlighted expanding opportunities for academic partnership. Students took part in immersive cultural experiences in Beijing, Dublin, Rome, and London. In Jerusalem, local school groups visited Notre Dame's academic center to explore the University’s programs and its commitment to need-blind admissions. In South Bend, international students connected intercultural learning with service to the local community, while Notre Dame’s international scholars reflected on the life and legacy of Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C. Together, these moments reflect a university continually extending its mission through relationships, discovery, and shared purpose around the world.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month.

The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Mexico

Smiling Notre Dame alumni pose with blue and gold banners on a checkered plaza before the ornate Metropolitan Cathedral.

Notre Dame Mexico hosted the Notre Dame Alumni Association's Latin America & Caribbean Regional Meeting, convening club leaders and university partners from across the region. Representatives from nine countries gathered to strengthen alumni engagement, share campus updates, and advance regional collaboration. University leaders—including two deans and many colleagues from Notre Dame's colleges and schools—reinforced Latin America’s strategic importance to the Notre Dame community. The three-day meeting combined strategic dialogue with cultural experiences, fostering new pathways to advance the University’s global mission.

Jerusalem

Students and a smiling guide walk toward a stone clock tower with an archway, framed by tall green cypress trees.

Notre Dame Jerusalem hosted local schools, giving students the opportunity to explore the academic center's facilities and resources while learning more about Notre Dame's need-blind admissions and pre-college programs.

Kylemore

A group of Notre Dame students and a man pose, smiling, in front of a graffiti-covered wall with "Class of ND 2027" written on it.

Notre Dame Kylemore spring study abroad students visited Northern Ireland, exploring Derry, Giant’s Causeway, Ballycastle, and more. In addition to excursions like this, students who are part of the Galway program have the unique opportunity to conduct international research in a live lab at the University of Galway.

Beijing

Notre Dame Beijing welcomed Notre Dame undergraduate students for the spring semester. Students in the Beijing program take courses at two top-10-ranked universities in Asia—Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University—as well as at The Beijing Center (TBC), which offers a distinctive experience in Chinese culture with a focus on education and fostering multicultural connections guided by the Jesuit tradition.

Dublin

Ten smiling women stand outdoors, between a brick building and a red building with a "NINE" sign.

Students joined the Notre Dame Dublin team on a second-hand book and thrift-store crawl. These immersive adventures led study abroad students around the city of Dublin to discover cultural gems while encouraging them to adopt sustainable and environmentally conscious practices.

Global Engagement Programs

Sixteen smiling people hold a sign, "Cultivate Nourishing our community with 505 meals!", against a "No Neighbor Hungry" mural.

As part of their intercultural workshop series, visiting international students and the Global Engagement Programs team tackled the topic of “awareness of others” by volunteering at Cultivate Food Rescue. Participants learned about food insecurity and made a direct impact in the South Bend-Mishawaka community by packaging over 500 meals during their shift.

London

A woman in a blue patterned shirt speaks from a Notre Dame podium to an attentive audience in a lecture hall. Text is projected on a screen.

The 15th Annual Notre Dame London Shakespeare Lecture, "Shakespeare Now (but not Hamlet)," was delivered by University of Oxford Professor of Shakespeare Studies Emma Smith. Supported by ongoing collaborations with the Shakespeare Institute, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Boika Sokolova, and honoree professor, Sir Stanley Wells, the yearly Shakespeare lecture continues to nourish a growing global community of Shakespeare scholars and practitioners.

Rome

Smiling students gather around an interactive map table in an exhibit hall with a curved screen showing "Italy and the EU".

Notre Dame Rome students explored how Europe and the European Parliament work, thanks to Professor Valentina Zaffino and a visit to Europa Experience in Rome. The group explored the European Union through interactive exhibits and multimedia installations and learned how the economic and political union tackles its most important challenges.

São Paulo

Three smiling people, including a man in a grey Notre Dame sweatshirt, stand on stone steps in front of an ornate church.

At the Latin America & Caribbean Regional Alumni Meeting, held in Mexico, Thaïs Burmeister Pires, director of Notre Dame São Paulo, connected with Maria Mercedes Salmon, director of Notre Dame Mexico, and Martijn Cremers, dean and professor of finance at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. The three discussed insights on the growing opportunities for business education in their respective countries as well as ways to strengthen bridges between Latin America and Notre Dame.

Hong Kong

Catherine Leung, director of Notre Dame Hong Kong, showed some of Notre Dame's international partners around the city during the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference and also took part in the University of Hong Kong's annual partner day alongside staff from the #1-ranked university in Asia.

Mumbai

Eight smiling people, 5 men and 3 women, dine at a round table with a red lamp in a lively restaurant with a bar.

Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization, visited India, meeting with several of Notre Dame Mumbai’s key academic partners across the country, including leaders from Miranda House College, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, IIT Delhi, and IISc Bengaluru. He also served as the chief guest at the launch of TISS Global. The visit included meetings with the Archbishop of Mumbai and gatherings with Notre Dame alumni and parents, strengthening relationships and exploring opportunities for deeper academic collaboration in India.

International Student & Scholar Affairs

Five smiling individuals in an office. A woman with glasses and a striped sweater sits at a desk, four others stand behind.

Led by Cynthia Reeves, ISSA's senior scholar immigration specialist, a group of the University's international scholars from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, and India visited the office of Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., to learn more about his life and legacy at Notre Dame.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on March 11, 2026.