Today@Dal

Submitted by Asa Kachan

March 22, Xiamen

We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful final destination in China. Xiamen is a port city in Southeastern China with a population of about 3 million. The sky is blue, and the sun shines bright. As the main gateway for the export of tea in the 19th century, Xiamen shows broad cultural influences. Some streetscapes are reminiscent of Marseille or Nice. Yet it is also home to the Buddhist Nanputuo Temple, dating back to the Tang Dynasty, which is regarded as a national treasure. The Temple is located next to the gate of Xiamen University.

Dalhousie’s relationship with Xiamen University goes back 30 years and we have current research connections in law, chemistry and oceanography. Our general MOU with Xiamen University is up for renewal, so this was a perfect time to discuss other specific areas of cooperation such as the possibility of a student exchange program that could consist of a number of Dal students attending summer courses in exchange for one or more Xiamen students spending a semester at Dal. This is a successful arrangement Xiamen already has with some European partners.

Asa and Keith explore Nanputuo Temple.

We can imagine Xiamen being a popular destination for our students. The city is a clean, stylish, easy to navigate, and would provide a near perfect first China experience for our students. The campus is stunning, there are many English language summer offerings and high quality international student accommodations. It felt a little like a subtropical educational paradise with clean air and clean streets.

Palm trees lining the Xiamen University sports field.

Keith, always on the look-out for fellow mathematicians, began his visit to campus by delivering a seminar at the School of Mathematics. After his seminar, a brilliant second-year undergraduate student who dreams of doing his PhD in Canada stayed to talk to Keith about what opportunities might be available to him. Those are always exciting conversations. While Keith was working, Asa, Alain and Chenxi took a quick ferry ride to visit Gulangyu, or “Piano” Island, a popular attraction visible from our hotel. The island, located just five minutes from downtown was an enclave of European diplomats during colonial times and locals reported that piano music used to drift across the water to the mainland. The island has beautiful beaches, villas and lovely small streets of shops. Even mid-week, it was a popular destination for locals and tourists. Our most often sightings: young women in fancy hats, and grandparents delighting in their grandchildren.

Then it was back to work to discuss the revisions to our MOU and to explore ways in which we can make Dalhousie’ partnership with Xiamen more substantive. We met with Dr. Tan Shaobin, Assistant President and Director of International Cooperation and Exchanges. Dr. Tan happens to be a mathematician who did his PhD in Canada who two graduate courses from Keith a couple of decades ago – another of the many small world phenomena we encountered on this trip. He and his staff have been working hard to strengthen Xiamen University’s ties with its international partner and to make Xiamen an attractive destination for students wishing to study abroad in China. There are many international students visible on this campus.

Our final piece of work here in China was to spend an hour with about 25 senior undergraduate or master’s level students who wanted to hear about opportunities for graduate studies at Dal. They were bright, enthusiastic, and we were interested to hear that many had already done independent research on Dalhousie. Some had already applied. After we ran through our PowerPoint presentation, the students peppered us with some great questions. While a few of the students had interest in areas that are not a great match to Dalhousie’s programs, we expect others will find a great fit in one or another of our departments. Many of these students are possible candidates for scholarships through the China Scholarship Council, which recognizes Dalhousie as a strong destination for its students.

Read all of the delegation's updates at the Eastern Horizons blog.