Recycling shipping containers into small apartments is saving students money and giving back to the environment at the same time.

Twelve marine and environmental studies graduate students from the Middle East and Europe are taking part in a two-week Mediterranean research project off the shores of La Spezia, Italy, to protect the unique ecosystem shared by countries that might not typically have relations.

Seventeen displaced American college students, who were forced to leave Egypt amid the political turmoil, are now studying at Israeli universities.