Berkeley International Group (BIG) Meetings

The Berkeley International Group (BIG) is composed of UC Berkeley faculty and staff who meet monthly to collaborate and participate in informal discussions related to the international work that we all do on campus. Each meeting is hosted by different units on campus. The group meets for one hour during the first week of every month, with the host deciding upon the topic, date, time, and location of the meeting.

February 12, 2026: Bi-monthly Drop-in IE Happy Hour [in person]

Please join the Berkeley International Group (BIG) for our second bi-monthly drop-in informal, no-host happy hour to foster community among UC Berkeley staff who work in or are interested in the field of international education. Light appetizers will be provided by the Berkeley International Group, refreshments are on your own.

This month’s IE happy hour will be held on Thursday, February 12 from 4:00 - 6:00 at Hotel Shattuck bar in downtown Berkeley located at 2086 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.

We look forward to cheers-ing to...

November 19, 2025: BIG Book Club | The Best We Could Do [in-person]

Please join us on Wednesday, November 19 from 12:10-1 p.m. for our next meeting of the Berkeley International Group Book Club. We’ll informally discuss Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do. A graphic novel, this American Book Award winning novel details the family’s escape following the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s and the subsequent difficulties they faced building new lives. This is the second book in our...

January 29, 2026: International and Research Partner Due Diligence

Please join us on Thursday, January 29th from 12-1pm for a best practice discussion about International and Research Partner Due Diligence. Sponsored jointly by the Berkeley International Group (BIG) and Berkeley Research Administrator’s Group (BRAG) staff organization ...

January 28, 2026: BIG Book Club | The End of the Myth - From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America (in-person)

Please join us on Wednesday, January 28 from 12:10-1 p.m. at the Golden Bear Center (map) for our next meeting of the Berkeley International Group Book Club. We’ll informally discuss The End of the Myth - From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America by Greg Grandin

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December 4, 2025: Bi-monthly Drop-in IE Happy Hour [in person]

Please join the Berkeley International Group (BIG) for our second bi-monthly drop-in informal, no-host happy hour to foster community among UC Berkeley staff who work in or are interested in the field of international education. This month’s IE happy hour will be held on Thursday, December 4th, 2025 from 4:00 - 6:00 at Hotel Shattuck bar in downtown Berkeley located at 2086 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.

This is a recurring, bi-monhtly no-host event where you can drop-in and connect with colleagues in an informal setting. Join us for 15...

October 23, 2025: Bi-monthly Drop-in IE Happy Hour [in person]

Please join the Berkeley International Group (BIG) for our first bi-monthly drop-in informal Happy Hour to foster community among UC Berkeley staff who work in or are interested in the field of international education. This month’s Happy Hour will be held on Thursday, October 23 from 4:00 - 6:00 at Jupiter in downtown Berkeley located at 2181 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704.

This is a recurring, no-host event where you can drop-in and connect with colleagues in an informal setting. Join us for 5 minutes or the full...

September 30, 2025: BIG Book Club | The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America [in-person]

Please join us on Tuesday, September 30 from 12:10-1 p.m. for our September 2025 meeting of the Berkeley International Group Book Club. We’ll informally discuss The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America, edited by Shukla & Suleyman. This meeting is the first in a series exploring immigration.

The meeting will take place at...

May 14, 2025: BIG Book Club | My Invented Country [in-person]

Please join us on Wednesday, May 14 from 12:10-1 p.m. for the final 2024-2025 meeting of the Berkeley International Group Book Club. We’ll informally discuss My Invented Countryby Isabel Allende

Hannah Fisher, Associate Director of the Evening and Weekend MBA Program at Haas School of Business, will start our May meeting. Hannah will tell us a little about their...

May 13, 2025: Building Community in Support of International Education [in person]

Come celebrate the end of the semester and the strength of our international education community! Join the Berkeley International Group (BIG) on Tuesday, May 13th from 4–6pm at Jupiter in downtown Berkeley (2181 Shattuck Avenue) for an upbeat, informal networking and social hour.

In a time when the federal...

January 28, 2025: BIG Book Club|Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 (in person)

Please join BIG on Tuesday, January 28 from 12:10-1 p.m. for the next meeting of the Berkeley International Group Book Club. We’ll informally discuss Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo, translated by Jamie Chang. The novel, set in Seoul, is heralded as the book that ignited the 4B Movement, a feminist movement in South Korea that has received considerable attention in the U.S. following November’s presidential election.

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