China Trip Focuses on Science, Environment
Students are in China studying the effects of climate change on the spread of infectious disease as part of a unique study abroad opportunity.
San Diego State University sent 12 SDSU students to Xiamen, China, to learn about the broad impacts of climate change and to compare the American and Chinese approaches to dealing with these issues.
Accompanying the students and lecturing in the course are three SDSU faculty:
- Sam Shen (mathematics)
- Stanley Maloy (biology)
- Al Sweedler (environmental science)
The students are part of the "Global Climate Change and the Spread of Infectious Disease" program, and are spending two weeks in China studying and working with Chinese students on projects related to climate change, energy, water resources, marine ecology and how all of these areas impact public health globally, in China and the United States.
The SDSU students are each paired with a Chinese student from the Institute for Marine and Environmental Science at Xiamen University. The paired students will make a presentation and prepare a research paper on a topic relevant to the course.
Building on the Confucius partnership
In addition to the course, SDSU students have taken several short trips to the historic city of Quazshou, the site of 2000 year old Buddhist temples and to the famous Gulangyu Island, home to one of the most extensive collections of classical pianos in the world.
Xiamen University, considered by many the most beautiful campus in China, is SDSU’s partner in the Confucius Institute which aims to increase awareness and celebration of Chinese culture and language.
A global network
SDSU students are part of a larger group of 92 students from China, Sweden, Hong Kong and other countries in Asia and thus have expanded opportunities to make friends and interact with students from all over the world. In addition to the SDSU professors delivering lectures and mentoring the students, professors from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States also are participating in the program.
The SDSU Confucius Institute
The SDSU Confucius Institute is a cooperative project of San Diego State University, the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) and Xiamen University. The Confucius Institute is an international organization with sites worldwide. SDSU is the first university to have a Confucius Institute in San Diego County.
