AASCU recently launched the 2020 China Studies Institute
(CSI) Webinar Series.
The CSI Zhi-Xing
China Academic Impact Fellowship typically involves three weeks of
intensive seminars, lectures, site visits and cultural activities in China. Due
to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, AASCU canceled the in-person 2020 CSI
program, but established the webinar series to cover several key topics that
have been popular with CSI participants.
This allows AASCU members to continue to learn from scholars
and education administrators about Chinese civilization, history, language,
business and education and to gain strategies for incorporating Chinese studies
into courses on their campuses.
The first webinar of the series took place on July 14 and
focused on “China Student Mobility in the Global Pandemic.” About 40 faculty members, senior international officers and
program coordinators attended the webinar.
Sufei Li, AASCU’s manager of international programs, kicked
off the webinar with a quick overview of CSI. Next, Xuesong Sheng, deputy
secretary-general of the Chinese Education Association for International
Exchanges (CEAIE), reviewed the CEAIE’s partnership with AASCU for the past
decade. In the past five years, 63 scholars have been invited and visited China
through the program, and they, in return, have established strong academic
collaborations and scholarly exchanges with China for their students and institutions.
Yang Xinyu, minister-counselor of the Chinese Embassy,
analyzed the current Chinese student mobility trend and provided
recommendations for future potential cooperation in higher education between
China and the U.S. She emphasized that the institutional exchanges are highly
appreciated and encouraged by schools and students in both countries. She also
recommended the American
Short-Term Study in China Initiative for American students, especially from
AASCU institutions, to study in China.
Colleen Marchwick, director of the Center for International
Education at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, shared her experiences and
UW-Eau Claire’s practice model with a Chinese partner institution for providing
services and helping Chinese students during the pandemic, including easing the
anxiety of parents and students.
Don Betz, AASCU’s executive director of international
programs, closed the meeting by stating that our institutions welcome Chinese
international students, and all the students on our campuses will be well taken
care of. He believes that people-to-people exchange will continue, and it is
the real connection for China and the U.S.
You can view the recording of the webinar here.
To attend future CSI webinars, view the upcoming sessions. Please
contact Sufei Li at Lis@aascu.org with any
questions.