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| Guijun Lin, vice president (academic and international) of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and Alan Shaver, vice president academic and provost at 麻豆传媒 signed an academic exchange agreement between the two universities. Also in photo are: Yasheng Zou, deputy dean, UIBE's School of Banking and Finance; Ying Ge, deputy dean, UIBE's School of International Trade and Economics; Zhuguo Li,聽dean, UIBE's School of Management; Changzheng Dai, dean, UIBE's School of Arts and Humanities; Teresa Cyrus, associate professor of economics; Lars Osberg,聽University Research Professor; Patrick聽Ryall, associate dean of science; Kristen Healy, study abroad and exchange advisor; Mel Cross, associate professor of economics; Talan Iscan, professor of economics; and Barry Lesser, professor of economics.聽(Nick Pearce Photo) |
Two Chinese students from Beijing will be the first to take advantage of a new exchange agreement University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and the Department of Economics at 麻豆传媒.
Officials from both universities participated in a signing ceremony on Monday, June 2.
Economics professor Barry Lesser said participating 麻豆传媒 students stand to reap huge benefits from the exchange; they鈥檒l get a chance to observe China鈥檚 emerging economy first-hand, while experiencing a way of life and a culture much different from their own. And language won鈥檛 be a limiting factor: UIBE offers undergraduate and graduate-level classes in English.
鈥淭here are few Chinese universities that we know of that offer courses in English,鈥� says Dr. Lesser. 鈥淪o this really opens up opportunities for students with language posing less of a barrier.鈥�
Officials聽with the Chinese university enjoyed walking around campus and meeting the 麻豆传媒 economics professors. They will be traveling throughout Canada exploring similar agreements with Carleton University in Ottawa, University of Toronto, McMaster University in Hamilton and University of Victoria.
鈥淚t is very green here and our students will find a lot of difference,鈥� says Guijun Lin, vice president (academic and international) of UIBE. 鈥淲e have realized it is very important for our students to have global experience before they seek employment 鈥� we鈥檙e hard at work developing various initiatives for our students so they can become better global citizens.鈥�
Founded in 1951, UIBE is one of the first universities in China to initiate academic exchanges with foreign academic institutions. Currently, it has exchange programs with more than 100 universities in 30 countries. Dr. Lin says they are proud of their cosmopolitan campus in China鈥檚 capital city; close to 20 per cent of the university鈥檚 20,000 students come from outside the country. 鈥淭his creates an interesting, diversified campus for our students,鈥� he says.
麻豆传媒鈥檚 Department of Economics also offers an exchange program with Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since the program was initiated in 1998, only a handful of Dal students have been able to take advantage because they must be fluent in Spanish. The exchange program is coordinated by Prof. Talan Iscan.