Even exchange

Carl Brun and his wife Karla with students at China's IEI Jiaotong University

If you were to develop a model exchange program between American and overseas universities, you would be hard pressed to find a better example than the ties between Wright State University and Dalian Jiaotong University–Information Engineering Institute.

Since its beginning in 2002, the program has involved more than 120 students and faculty from both institutions. The visits for Wright State students in China last from one week to an entire semester and include course work in Chinese conversation language, Chinese painting and calligraphy, martial art, Chinese cuisine, Chinese handicraft, world heritage in China and Chinese music appreciation.

The Chinese university has some 25 undergraduate programs in a variety of fields and more than 6,000 students. A unique aspect of the relationship on the Dalian campus is a Wright State University Center that replicates a classroom from Dayton.

The Dalian students coming to Wright State spend from a few days for brief intensive cultural immersion workshops to up to two years while pursuing graduate degrees in business or engineering.

“The scope of academic programming, faculty and student exchange, co-curricular programming and financial support for scholarships and travel make the scope of this partnership unlike any traditional exchange agreement,” said Michelle Streeter-Ferrari, director of Wright State’s University Center for International Education. “This is a truly modern partnership, allowing for collaboration on many levels that impacts the internationalization of both universities in an effective and sustainable way,” she said.

Rebecca Robinson, a senior majoring in German, spent a semester at Dalian and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. “I got to experience a new world: the culture, the sights, the people. Seeing it in magazines, movies, television, etc., is nothing compared to the experience of standing in front of Tiananmen Square or looking up at a golden statue of Buddha the size of a three-story building in the middle of a forest-covered mountain,” she said. “I also learned that Chinese food in America is absolutely disgusting compared to a lot of the dishes I had in China. True Chinese food is a million times better than the stuff we call Chinese food here.”

Robinson said that academically she got an “extraordinary grasp of the Chinese language” in a way that could never be replicated in a classroom setting. “But the best part was that I got to be a representative for my country. The people I talked to didn’t know very much about America, so I had a chance to explain how diverse and different our country is. This too was sometimes difficult because some things Americans are known for are completely unexplainable, but it was fun sharing.” By the time she left China, “I felt like I had a very good picture of what life was like, and I loved it for what it was. I would never want it to be my life, but I could appreciate it, respect it and understand it as something different but ultimately just as good as American life in most aspects.”

The Dalian partnership started at Wright State in 2002 with the College of Engineering and Computer Science, expanded to the College of Liberal Arts LEAP (Intensive English) Program in 2009 and Raj Soin College of Business this year.

Some 45 Dalian students are enrolled this quarter at Wright State, while seven Wright State students are studying at the Dalian campus in China about 300 miles east of Beijing. Another group of Wright State students will study there in the winter Intersession as part of a growing Chinese language program at the university.

Chuang Guan came to Wright State from Dalian in the fall of 2009 to pursue a two-year master’s degree in engineering. It was his first trip to America, and he said it has been both challenging and enjoyable. “I had some difficulties at the start with the language and having to speak English so much,” he said, “but it is much better now.”

When asked what he enjoys the most about the U.S., he quickly responded: “The people…They are very friendly, especially the students, faculty and staff at Wright State.”

He cited an example of this friendliness. Guan was on a bus and noticed a man with some bagels. When Guan asked about them, the man said he worked at a bagel shop. After they talked for a few minutes, the man just gave him two bagels and wanted nothing in return. “The bagels were so good that when I saw him the next time on the bus, I asked if I could buy some from him because I had no transportation to the bagel store. He said he couldn’t sell me any, but the next day he showed up on the bus with a bag of 15 bagels that he just gave to me. That would never happen in China.”

Guan said he had to learn to live much more independently in Dayton than in China. “At home your parents take care of everything, which is just the way the culture is in China. But here I have much more independence, such as taking care of paying my bills and making many more decisions on my own.”

When a group of Dalian leaders visited here in October, Wright State President David R. Hopkins praised the cooperation between the two institutions. “This partnership means a lot to our students, and we want more of them to have this international experience,” he said. “It builds mutual understanding and global awareness that is needed to thrive in the 21st century. Going to Dalian can change your life.”

Hopkins has visited the campus in Dalian, a coastal city of some 2.5 million people. “I have been fortunate to travel to many places in the world, and I must say that Dalian if one of the most beautiful places I have ever been,” he said. With natural harbors and sparkling beaches, it is one of China’s main tourist destinations. Adding to the beauty is an architectural style reflecting both Russian and Japanese influences. The city also boasts a well-established industry and active trade program.

During a visit to Wright State, Dexin Yang, Ph.D., chairman of the Board of Directors at Dalian, said the purpose of the exchange program from his perspective is (1) to provide opportunities for American students to learn Chinese language through full cultural immersion, (2) create a mutually beneficial Chinese-English lingual environment and (3) promote better mutual understanding and cultural exchanges. “The third reason is the most important,” he said, “because it allows close interaction with Chinese students.”

One of the greatest benefits of the Dalian experience for Wright State students is the cost. Scholarships are available that cover virtually all the education fees, on-campus housing and round-trip flight tickets. For students without a scholarship, the semester fees can be as low as $80 per week.

Among the Wright State faculty to visit Dalian is Carl Brun, Ph.D., chair and professor of social work. He spent a week there when he visited Chinese homes for the elderly and lodging for displaced children. Brun also met with Dalian social work faculty and talked with some 200 students interested in social work. “It was great to learn about social work in another country and the hospitality extended to me by Lin Han, a Dalian social work faculty member, was a great cultural exchange experience,” Brun said. He said social work is decades older in the United States than in China, and he hopes that in the future, differences in this discipline between the two can be explored through simultaneous presentations and/or classes through technology embedded in the Wright State Center at Dalian.