A University of Michigan program that sends engineering students to China has picked up one of the highest honors in international higher education.
The University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute has won an Andrew Heiskell Award from the Institute of International Education.
James Holloway is U-M's vice provost for global and engaged education. He says the program provides Chinese students an English language education, and allows U.S. and Chinese students to get to know each others' culture.
Nearly 300 U-M students and more than 500 Chinese students have benefited from the program since its creation in 2006.
The stated goals of IIE's Heiskell Awards are: To foster innovative ideas that will help international education professionals create and sustain new opportunities for students and faculty To bring international education to the forefront of education policy To stimulate public awareness of the benefits of study abroad and international educational exchange
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The University of Michigan - Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (JI) is a partnership that began in 2006 between the two institutions, encompassing student mobility, dual degrees, and faculty collaboration. The Joint Institute program focuses on STEM education and offers an English language platform in China for collaborative teaching and student learning. The two institutions run a common engineering curriculum that allows Chinese students from the JI to transfer to U-M and pursue a range of undergraduate and graduate programs. After earning a U-M degree, undergraduate students may return to the JI to earn a dual degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. In the other direction, nearly 300 students from the University of Michigan have studied abroad at the Joint Institute, making the partnership invaluable for both universities.
— Bob Eccles is a reporter and the host of 89.1 WEMU's All Things Considered. Contact him at 734.487.3363, email him reccles@emich.edu, or follow him on Twitter @BobEcclesWEMU
