(Written in Chinese by Zhiyu Chen and Translated into English by Yongjiang Chen)
From February 26 to 27, Dr. Hui Li, assistant to the President of Duke Kunshan University (DKU) and Dr. Keith Dear, Director of the Master of Science in Global Health Program at DKU visited the Global Health Institute of Wuhan University, holding discussions with the Institute concerning the possibility of collaborations in teaching, research and talent training.
Dr. Li made an introduction to the building of the DKU. She talked about the DKU Undergraduate Global Learning Semester, which is a non-degree program accepting undergraduates both from China and around the world. Accepted undergraduate students can enjoy the one-semester-long liberal arts-style learning experience and get academic credits from Duke University, which are transferrable to their home university. Since DKU as of yet has not set up undergraduate programs, the one-semester program will not grant an academic degree. The program constitutes preparatory work for the setup of undergraduate programs in DKU in 2019. The undergraduate programs will then be exclusively equipped with the faculty of Duke University and completely taught in English.
Given its special relations with Wuhan University, DKU offers five full scholar positions for undergraduate applicants from Wuhan University. Because there are 4 courses that are related to Global Health in the first year of the Program, Dr. Li especially encouraged applications from the students of the Institute.
Dr. Dear focused on the introduction to the graduate programs. DKU will officially launch its graduate programs in September, 2014, including Master of Science in Medical Physics, Master of Science in Global Health, and Master of Management Studies, all of which highlight Duke University’s strengths and characteristics and also meet the demand of the latest developments in Chinese society. For example, the Master of Science Program integrates Medical Science, Public Health, Legal Science, Economics, Public Policy and Business Management; the Graduate Medical Physics Program concentrates on Diagnostic Imaging, Radiotherapy, Nuclear Medicine and especially Cancer Treatment; while the Master of Management Studies Program, drawing upon the strengths of the Duke Fuqua School of Business, will be completed in Kunshan, after participating in internships in the enterprises located around the Yangtze River Delta Region.
DKU will offer scholarships of different amounts to candidates to its graduate program so as to help them accomplish their graduate training.
During their stay, Dr. Li and Prof. Dear also explored possibilities of establishing intercollegiate collaboration in teaching and research with the faculty of the Institute. Dr. Li extended her welcome to the faculty of the Institute to audit lectures in DKU and to work as adjunct graduate mentor.
On the morning of the 27th, some of the faculty members affiliated with the Institute held a meeting with Dr. Dear. They introduced their research areas and discussed the possible partnership in collaborative research and application for research grants.