New programs have been implemented at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which connect elite Chinese undergraduates with the civil engineering and genetics department. The school was selected among 9 other American universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the University of Southern California to host the Jiangsu Education Services for International Exchange (JESIE) programs.
Bob Kraft, FirstPathway Partners' Chairman and CEO, serves on the Board of the UW-Madison China Leadership Initiative and is excited about this collaboration, especially after learning that the program was rated highest among U.S. courses offered to Chinese students.
UW Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor, Jae Kwang (Jim) Park has been instrumental in launching the program. He has led fieldtrips to wastewater facilities throughout Wisconsin, teaching the 28 students about various water treatment systems. At the conclusion of the program this past summer, Professor Park traveled to the Jiangsu provincial capital city of Nanjing to discuss expansion of the Wisconsin program. It has been so successful that the University would like to extend and expand it. In fact, Park believes that 2015 will see the school offering "Sustainable Engineering and Science" as a summer program through JESIE.
Photo above: Students from across China's Jiangsu Province participated in an engineering program this summer at UW-Madison.