International Education Week Spotlight: iCEP Stars and International Student/Scholar Researchers
During International Education Week (IEW), International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) is proud to spotlight new iCEP Academy Stars along with several international Phd and scholar researchers.
International Education Week is celebrated across the nation on college campuses during the third week of November, this year from November 17 to 21, 2025. The historical collaboration between NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the U.S. Secretaries of State and Education is in its twenty-fifth year of commemorating international education and campus internationalization.
UAlbany emphasizes internationalization in various ways, including curriculum integration, education abroad opportunities, global programs like Peace Corps Prep and Global Distinctions, prestigious scholarships/fellowships like Fulbright, and international student and scholar engagement.
To celebrate this special anniversary of IEW, UAlbany’s calendar of events begins with International Student Day on Monday and culminates on Friday with the Cultural Connections Festival. Check out the full list of November 2025 IEW activities across our campus.
iCEP Stars
The iCEP Academy — an ISSS initiative to enhance faculty and staff support for international student success — officially launched in 2025-2026 after one full pilot year.
Over 100 participants are engaged in the three-module, three-hour international student success focused training during the Fall 2025 semester.
Featured in this year's Academy is the new iCEP Stars program, a committed group of faculty and staff willing to receive additional training and be recognized as ISSS campus partners. The 2025-2026 ICEP Stars include:
- Susan Appe, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
- Eva Alvarez Eró, Human Resources
- Rita Biswas, Massry School of Business
- Diane Codding, Department of Educational Theory & Practice
- Tara Evans, ISSS
- Jennifer Ho, Counseling & Psychological Services
- Valerie Goris, Human Resources
- Jill Haskell, Human Resources
- Lauren Pelletier, Department of Computer Science
- Lisanny Manzueta Custodio, Graduate School
- Kayla O'Donnell, ISSS
- Michael Ramella, University Auxiliary Services
Thank you to all of our iCEP Academy participants and Stars for their dedication to supporting international students at UAlbany.
International Student/Scholar Researchers
Among UAlbany's diverse population, current international students and scholars make up almost 10% of the overall international population. Add F and J international student alumni engaged in practical training, and arrive at a total of over 2,300 international students and scholars from more than 100 countries served in 2025-2026.
As important contributors to campus internationalization and in light of IEW 2025, featured below are several talented international students and scholars engaged in intriguing, impactful research. They represent the high level of research among all of our international student and scholar researchers at UAlbany:
Fatimah Judayba (Saudi Arabia)
Fatimah is a Phd candidate in the Department of Physics with a research emphasis on the foundations of quantum mechanics, entropic dynamics, information geometry and classical limit.
Recognized as the first Saudi woman in her theoretical physics specialization, her latest conference presentation focused on “Entropic Dynamics approach to the classical limit of Quantum Mechanics: decoupling of the center of mass motion for a mesoscopic particle.”
Fatimah asserts that all sciences are interrelated and continues to explore the most important questions about connections between physics, the universe and God — all as steps on her journey toward inner peace and paradise.
Fatimah has served as the Vice President of the Saudi Student Organization at UAlbany, is a certified family and educational counselor, and is a physics lecturer at JU Science College in Saudi Arabia. She plans to graduate in 2026.
Khem Sedhai (Nepal)
A Phd candidate in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership, Khem’s major research focus is student success and social mobility of first-generation college students in Nepal. Other research areas of interest include international education, the Caste system, artificial intelligence, and public diplomacy.
His latest publication is titled the Role of social capital in expanding higher education access for Nepali Dalits. Khem received the Student Employee Excellence Award (2025), Dean’s Excellence Award in Leadership and Service (2024), and President’s Award for Leadership (2022).
He is currently working as a data analyst in the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment, recognized with a dissertation research fellowship and expects to graduate in 2026.
Dr. Mohamed O. Amin (Somalia)
Dr. Amin is an international Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Chemistry and Senior Scientist for SupreMEtric LLC through the UAlbany Innovation Center at ETEC.
Soon after earning his Phd in Forensic and Analytical Chemistry at Kuwait University, he came to UAlbany under the sponsorship of Dr. Igor K Lednev, Distinguished Professor and Williams-Raychefff Endowed Professor, in the Department of Chemistry and affiliated with the RNA Institute.
Similar to Dr. Lednev’s research, Dr. Amin focuses his research on developing cutting-edge approaches using spectroscopic and mass spectrometry methods for forensic and medical diagnostic applications. His impactful work has led to the publication of over 35 peer-reviewed scientific articles and a notable book chapter.
Additionally, Dr. Amin serves on the editorial board of BMC Chemistry (Springer Nature). Dedicated to advancing the field, Dr. Amin continues to make significant contributions to forensic and medical diagnostic fields.
Join ISSS and the Center for International Education and Global Strategy (CIEGS) in recognizing the contributions and achievements of our iCEP Academy participants, iCEP Stars and featured international student and scholar researchers who help diversify, strengthen and internationalize the UAlbany campus.