Kent State China STEM Tour

Following the completion of spring semester, a delegation of faculty members from Kent State University - accompanied by several staff members of the Kent State China Center - will be touring China over the next few weeks to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, while also promoting Kent State as a preferred academic destination for Chinese students.

• Tour Participants
• Tour Itinerary

The delegation will spend 10 days in China travelling to several major cities and attending an assortment of STEM-related conferences, Chinese universities and student college fairs. In addition, the tour participants will also be given the opportunity to meet several key Chinese recruiting agents, who partner with Kent State to identify and recruit prospective students locally. The participants believe that the STEM-focused recruiting trip is the first of its kind by an American university in China.

"Everyone involved is excited to launch the first STEM recruitment fair for Kent State University in China in May 2017," explains Sarah Malcolm, Director of International Partnerships, Marketing, & Communications for the Office of Global Education. "Several of our top professors and advisors in the STEM fields will travel to China to promote the value of STEM education to prospective students and their parents. We hope the inaugural tour is a success and becomes a unique part of the recruitment process for KSU in other countries as well."

The tour was organized by the School of Digital Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences with the intent of increasing enrollment in the STEM-related programs at Kent State by international students. Although the tour is focused on STEM education, faculty representatives from the College of Business Administration saw the opportunity to promote its programs as well and joined the delegation.

The tour also enables key faculty members to connect with the China Center to better coordinate recruiting efforts within China's immense student population. "Because we will be travelling together, the faculty members will get a better understanding of the academic interests and needs of Chinese students in relationship to the STEM disciplines," explains David Wei, the director of the Kent State China Center. "Our staff, on the other hand, while learn more about the colleges, their programs and their academic advantages, which will help us with our future recruiting efforts." 

Individuals interested in the tour can watch its progress at the China STEM Tour Flickr Album.