ASU Global to host Sichuan University Showcase

ASU Global will host a series of events showcasing the university’s partnership with China’s Sichuan University (SCU) from Feb. 9 through 11. The ASU-Sichuan University Showcase will highlight SCU’s strengths, offer students and faculty information about a variety of opportunities related to the ASU-SCU partnership, and underscore the value of the partnership to ASU, Sichuan University, their respective communities and to other stakeholders.

The relationship between the two universities grew out of a series of reciprocal visits: In 2005 and 2006, ASU President Michael Crow led delegations of U.S. university presidents and administrators to China to meet with counterparts, and in 2006, Heping Xie, president of Sichuan University, led a delegation of Chinese administrators to ASU. During that trip the ASU-SCU partnership agreement was signed.

A delegation from Sichuan University led by Vice President Jian “Stan” Shi, and including Shijing Yan, director of the Office of International Affairs, and Ping Guan, division director in the Office of International Affairs, will be at ASU to participate in the showcase. In addition, some 28 participants in the Sichuan University Executive Training Program, administered locally by the University Design Institute, will be on campus and participate in showcase events. The group, the second cohort sent here by SCU, will meet with ASU counterparts as part of their UDI program, in addition to offering three public lectures as part of the showcase.

“This is the first time we’ve had a university-wide event to publicize the partnership, in particular among students,” says Mengying Li, China partnerships manager for ASU Global. “More important, it will be a chance for ASU students to become aware opportunities to engage with and become involved in collaborative initiatives and projects with Sichuan University.”

Showcase events will be held at ASU’s Tempe Campus, Downtown Campus and at SkySong. They include:

Opening reception (by invitation only), in honor of the SCU delegation and to thank donors to the relief fund for the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. ASU and SCU administrators will formally sign a supplementary 3+2 program agreement. A 3+2 program enables students to complete the first three years of undergraduate degree at a home institution; the fourth year of undergraduate and a first year of post-graduate work is done at a partner institution, resulting in a bachelor’s degree from the home institution and a master’s degree from the partner. The event also will feature the launch of a new book, Public Universities and Regional Engagement, published by the University Design Institute.

ASU-Sichuan University Student Expo (open to the public), from 11:30-1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9 in Ventana Room B at the Memorial Union. Displays will include multimedia and information about: SCU programs, fellowships and scholarships for advanced degree-seeking students; faculty-directed study abroad programs at and exchanges with SCU; ASU-SCU earthquake relief projects; and ASU-SCU joint initiatives with the University Design Institute, Confucius Institute, Virginia Piper Creative Writing Center, the American English and Culture Program, the Chinese language program, ASU Libraries, the Department of English, Rock Art Program, the Center for Asian Research, and the Center for Global Education Services. There will also be a prize drawing and light refreshments.

Student entrepreneurship panel (open to the public), from 2:30-3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10 in the Vision Room at SkySong. Panelists will include ASU students, local businesspeople and members of the SCU delegation. Sister Cities photo exhibit and reception, 4 p.m. (exhibit opening) and 5-7 p.m. (reception), Wednesday, Feb. 11 in the West Building Conference Center of the Phoenix Convention Center.

In addition, there will be a series of three public lectures by members of the SCU delegation and photo exhibits at Noble Library and Tempe Center.

The ASU-Sichuan University Showcase is the first in a series of corresponding events planned here and at Sichuan University to focus on the partnership, improve student mobility and strengthen linkages between the two institutions. The next event, an ASU Showcase at Sichuan University, is expected to take place in October of this year.

For more on ASU Global, go to asu.edu/global