As hundreds of Syracuse University students begin a semester overseas this fall, the Division of International Programs Abroad has already set plans for another cross-cultural academic experience in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Members of Tsinghua University, a top Chinese university in Beijing, met with SU officials Saturday to formally launch a new abroad center, allowing students to gain a closer insight into the culture in China, said Sue Shane, associate director for administration and program development for DIPA.

‘It is focused inward to the Chinese experience,’ Shane said. ‘It’s for students (who) want to learn about China and the language.’

The Beijing program, expecting to launch this spring, will provide students with a bicultural environment, according to Shane, allowing them to live in residence halls and take classes in English alongside Chinese students attending Tsinghua.

Although DIPA has centers in five other locations around the world, including Hong Kong, Caroline Tong, the future Beijing program director, initiated the center after she saw a growing appeal among faculty and students wanting to do research in China.

‘In Hong Kong, we take them to mainland China and noticed students’ interest,’ said Tong, who is also the current director of China Projects in Maxwell’s Executive Education Program. ‘China is becoming more important for students to go outside (into) the country.’

The Beijing program, Tong said, is intended to direct a more regional interest making it economically focused where students will take a look at the history and politics of China. Shane agreed, stating the Hong Kong program consists of a business perspective and an outlook approach where students are given a more global view.

‘(The Beijing program) is more about contemporary China and why it’s changing so rapidly,’ Shane said. ‘It’s more focused on the country itself.’

The Hong Kong and Beijing centers, however, will complement each other, as both groups will be attending the same traveling seminars at the start of the semester, she said.

As a relatively small program in Beijing is expected this spring, both Shane and Tong believe that as other colleges at SU become involved in establishing a relationship with Tsinghua, the program will expand to encourage all students to participate. SU and Tsinghua intend to collaborate on programs including engineering, public policy and communications.

‘This program is targeted not only to the business school, but to all schools who are interested,’ Tong said. ‘I hope students take advantage.’

Some students who have already taken part in the Hong Kong program agree with Tong that studying in a place that is generally less common can offer an array of different experiences both culturally and academically.

‘(Hong Kong and China) was the best experience of my life, and when I compare experiences my friends have had in places like Europe, I feel rewarded for going on the less traveled road, if you will,’ said Gavin Flynn, a junior marketing management major from Siena College, who went to Hong Kong through SU this past spring. ‘I got a taste of what it is like in a completely different world, and I wouldn’t have traded that for anything.’

Published on September 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm