In order to further promote the construction of the ECNU Center at New York, enhance the international academic discourse power and ECNU’s overseas influence, the first scholar meeting of East China Normal University-China Institute ECNU Center at New York was successfully held on the morning of the December, 17th, Beijing time. It was held online via ZOOM platform and offline at the Faculty of Education, ECNU, aiming to discuss uncertainty and opportunities faced by global education and academic exchanges around “The Future of U.S.- China Educational Exchange”.
Offline Participants of ECNU
Online Participants
The meeting was presided over by Liao Shenzhan, SVP, Education; Head of the School of Chinese Studies, China Institute. The guests from the United States were: James B. Heimowitz, President of China Institute, Denis Simon, Senior Adviser to the President for China Affairs at Duke University, former Executive Vice Chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, Dinda Elliott, Head of Public Relations of China Institute, and Aaron Nicholson, Head of the Technology Department. The attendees of ECNU included: Wu Wenyu, Deputy Dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Science, Zhou Yong, Director of the Office of the Confucius Institute and Deputy Director of the International Exchange Division, Xun Yuan, Executive Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education, Chen Shuangye, Associate Director of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, and Executive Associate Editor of ECNU Review of Education, Li Mei, Party Branch Secretary of the Institute of Higher Education, Wang Tao, Assistant Director of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, Zhu Gang, Associate Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, Qiu Yue, Director of the International Affairs Division of the Faculty of Education, Tang Tingting, Director of Scientific Research Division, You Li, Executive Editor of ECNU Review of Education, etc. The meeting also attracted more than 50 educators in the United States to watch online and participate in online exchanges.
Presided over by Liao Shenzhan, SVP, Education; Head of the School of Chinese Studies, China Institute
James B. Heimowitz, President of China Institute, first extended his welcome to the guests of East China Normal University and the US online audience, and reviewed the history of the establishment of China Institute and the origins of cooperation between the Institute and ECNU, especially the long-term and in-depth cooperation in the fields of Chinese culture promotion, Chinese language teaching, and Sino-US cultural and academic exchanges, he said that the ECNU Center at New York jointly established by East China Normal University and the China Institute is another important measure for bilateral cooperation in the new era. It is hoped that this center can become an essential bridge connecting Sino-US educational exchanges and make positive contributions to Sino-US cultural exchanges.
James B. Heimowitz, President of China Institute delivering the opening welcome
Professor Xun Yuan, Executive Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education, introduced the measures taken by the Faculty of Education of ECNU to continually participating in global dialogue and spreading China’s voice during the epidemic, including: professors from China and the United States are organized to launch the “Pedagogy in the Epidemic” micro-video course to discuss classic and hot issues in education; ECNU Review of Education published a series of academic papers by scholars from home and aboard on the development of international education during and after the epidemic; in October this year, the 2020 online meeting of the Global Education Dean’s Forum was jointly organized by Boston College and ECNU to discuss the challenges faced by different countries or regions under the global epidemic and the countermeasures; many professors of the Faculty of Education, as members of China National Society of Early Childhood Education of the World Organization For Early Childbood Education (OMEP), actively edit and integrate online educational resources for children’s games activities to aid Italy during the epidemic. Professor Xun Yuan also said that he hoped to work with countries around the world to study the future of education in the epidemic or post-epidemic era, establish broader and deeper cooperation and exchange, and reach consensus on major education issues.
Xun Yuan, Executive Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education, delivering the opening remarks
As main speakers of this program, Chen Shuangye, Associate Director of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction ECNU, and Executive Associate Editor of ECNU Review of Education, and Denis Simon, Senior Adviser to the President for China Affairs at Duke University, former Executive Vice Chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, shared their insights on the impact of pandemic on educational exchange.
Through analysis of the data and micro-trends of China’s international education exchange, Professor Chen Shuangye maintained that although the epidemic situation was tense around the world, humans would work together to overcome difficulties, and we should be optimistic about Sino-US educational exchange during the epidemic. Moreover, Professor Chen pointed out that although offline communication was not possible in this phase, most cooperation could be achieved through frequent online communication. She hoped that we would pay more attention to the impact of educational exchange on knowledge and the impact of globalization on mankind, advance the development of multiculturalism and the cultivation of an ambidextrous mind, as well as jointly promote the construction of the ECNU Center at New York, and co-create the future of Sino-US educational exchange.
Chen Shuangye, Associate Director of ECNU Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, delivering a speech
Professor Denis Simon took the US-China joint venture institution-Duke Kunshan University as the main case to analyze the experience of educational exchange and cooperation and the opportunities and challenges brought by the epidemic. He recommended the book The Coronavirus: Human, Social and Political Implications (2020), edited by Duke Kunshan University and published by Palgrave Macmillan Press, UK, which studied the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese education. Professor Simon then introduced the challenges faced by international cooperative education in the selection of partners, the location of institution, the determination of common goals, the setting of courses, as well as some economic and politic issues. He also pointed out that despite the difficulties, Duke Kunshan University had seized opportunities in curriculum innovation, teacher development, and talent cultivation to promote higher education reform and development. With all sectors of society concerned about the impact of the epidemic on US-China joint venture institutions like Duke Kunshan University, he mentioned the sustainable development of cooperative programs was very important, and both sides needed to actively maintain cooperative relations to overcome difficulties and ultimately achieve a win-win outcome.
Professor Denis Simon of Duke University delivering a speech
The program also invited three professors from ECNU to participate in the scholar exchange session. Associate Professor Li Mei, Party Branch Secretary of the Institute of Higher Education, expressed her views from the perspective of the impact of the epidemic on students and their parents’ willingness to study abroad, saying that due to the impact of the epidemic, the number of students choosing to study in the United States might decrease in the short term, and parents’ willingness to send students abroad to study would also drop. Assiociate Professor Wang Tao, assistant Director of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, discussed how to promote the cultivation of students’ global competence from the perspective of curriculum. Focusing on the core competence-based curriculum in China, he mentioned that “international understanding” competence is one of the key competences. From the perspective of teacher education, Associate Professor Zhu Gang of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, held the view that the exchange between China and the United States in the field of teacher education should be strengthened to promote the improvement of the teaching and management capabilities of the faculty members.
Li Mei of the Institute of Higher Education, Wang Tao of Curriculum and Instruction and Zhu Gang of the Institute of International and Comparative Education participating in the discussion
At the end of the meeting, Ms. Liao Shenzhan invited guests from China and the United States to discuss the question on the silver linings: what’s your hope to see some of the goodness for U.S.-China educational exchange in the future? She hoped that Sino-US educational exchange would not cease during the epidemic, and all of us maintained an optimistic attitude to overcome the difficulties and achieve a win-win situation.
Pictures and texts: International Affairs Division