Melissa Navas, Class of 2019
Representatives met with UChicago students.

Chinese universities have long had a relationship with the University of Chicago and inform students about its world-ranked undergraduate and graduate programs each year. But for the first time this spring, the University of Chicago brought together leadership from China’s top universities to learn holistically about the university’s offerings and partnership opportunities.

UChicago Global and the Office of the Provost hosted representatives from 12 of China’s top universities from April 30 to May 4 to learn more about the university’s various schools and divisions, including the Harris School of Public Policy, the School of Social Services Administration, the Graham School and others.

Presentations were given by the Graham School, Harris Public Policy and many others.

Chinese officials spent time both on campus and across the City of Chicago to learn about students’ experiences and the academic programs that attract international students to UChicago. The University of Chicago has a strong presence in China with the Center in Beijing, which fosters collaboration between scholars from China and Chicago.

“I am very impressed by the range of offerings at Harris and the data-centric approach to policy study,” said Ian Heuer, of Sun Yat-sen University.

The visit also allowed visitors to learn about the broader university community, including the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation where they learned about the center’s emphasis on venture creation and technology commercialization and the Becker Friedman Institute.

“There are many centers of this kind in the world, yet Polsky Center is definitely one of the top ones,” said Wen Zhu, an official from Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Representatives also received a tour of campus, including the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library.

“The University of Chicago has developed wonderful relationships with universities in China, but nothing compares to having our partners on campus to hear directly from our campus community and see the work being done to drive social impact around the world,” said Ranjan Daniels, AM’94, Senior Director, Office of the Provost, and the Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Global Outreach at the Harris Public Policy. “In our global society, it is important that we continue to strengthen our relationships with institutions around the world that benefit our next generation of leaders and thinkers.”

The Chinese officials said they found the visit useful in experiencing the university’s programs first-hand and for discussing how to partner with the university in the future.

Representatives attended from the following partner universities:

  • Peking University
  • Tsinghua University
  • Renmin University of China
  • Fudan University
  • Zhejiang University
  • Beijing Foreign Studies University
  • Sun Yat-Sen University
  • Wuhan University
  • Shandong University
  • Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
  • Nankai University
  • Nanjing University

If you would like to learn more about this or future International Partner University Staff Engagement Week initiatives, please contact Shilin Liu, Student Recruitment and International Partnerships Manager at Harris Public Policy.

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