The University of Georgia’s top international educator is leading a trip to China this month in a bid to deepen partnerships with three major universities.
Kavita Pandit, associate provost for international education, will be accompanied by academics from the schools of pharmacy and international affairs as well as the university’s graduate research center.
The group will visit Fudan University in Shanghai, where UGA has its strongest ties. The UGA School of Law has a summer program there, while the College of Pharmacy has a partnership addressing Food and Drug Administration regulations.
UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government often hosts Chinese officials for training on public administration, another area in which it has a key partnership with Fudan, according to Jane Gatewood, the university’s director of international partnerships, who will also join the delegation.
At Jiangnan University in the city of Wuxi, just west of Shanghai, the group will meet with leaders to discuss deepening research and exchange on food science, an area where that Chinese university excels.
At Nanjing University in the capital of Jiangsu province, the groups will discuss ongoing partnerships on ecology and the genetics of invasive species.
While most collaborations involve graduate programs, the officials will also discuss ways to increase study-abroad opportunities for undergraduates, Dr. Gatewood said.
She said it’s vital for UGA leaders to go to China in order to maintain existing ties and develop new ones.
“When you develop strong, sustainable partnerships, you have to go visit and remain connected,” she said.
Over the last five years, UGA has sent 200 students to China. Every year, the Athens university hosts about 350 Chinese students and scholars, mostly at the graduate level, Dr. Gatewood said.
The delegation will host a special outreach event for UGA alumni in Shanghai June 10, the first event of its kind held in China.
Additional members of the delegation:
–Paul Brooks, assistant dean, College of Pharmacy
–Robert Grafstein, associate dean, School of Public and International Affairs
–Dexi Liu, Panoz professor of pharmacy and head of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences department, College of Pharmacy
–Robert Scott, distinguished research professor and associate vice president for research at the Boyd Graduate Studies Research Center.
Visit www.uga.edu for more information.
For more about the Shanghai alumni event, contact Irving Steel at Irving@e8r.asia.
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