Internationalizing Chinese universities: challenges and opportunities

Dr. Daibo Chen(East China University of Political

Science and Law, China/University of York, UK)

Content

There are 2 parts to this presentation:

Part 1: I will describe some historical trends regarding internationalization in Chinese higher education

Part 2: I will describe current attempts to achieve ‘Internationalization at home’

Background

The development of the Chinese economy means that internationalization is becoming increasingly important to Chinese universities.

459,800 Chinese students went to study abroad in 2014.356,499 international students from 200 countries were

studying in Chinese institutions of higher education in 2013.

There are many collaborations between Chinese and other universities.

Part 1: The history of internationalization in Chinese higher education

• There is no generally accepted definition of internationalization in higher education in China.

• We have to explore the meaning of the concept of internationalization by referring to the historical trends in Chinese higher education.

Historical trends regarding internationalization in Chinese higher education

• Before 1949: learning from the West• 1950-1965: learning from the Soviet

Union• 1978-2010: learning from Western

developed countries• From 2010: the Chinese approach to

internationalization

Before 1949: learning from the west• The first modern university was founded by Americans in 1879 in

Shanghai. This was called Saint John’s University.

• There were 3 kinds of universities in China before 1949: national university, private university, church-funded university.

Chinese national and private universities were constituted according to the model of western universities, but also included some localized features.

Church-funded universities transplanted the western system to China.

Shanghai Saint John’s University(1879-1952) is an example of an early attempt at internationalization

• Saint John’s University was praised as eastern Harvard, the cradle of diplomats. Its golden age was during the years 1906-1925.

• The university was constituted according to the US university system, and was registered in America. The President and most teachers were Americans or had graduated from America, the teaching language was English (except for Chinese language and culture courses from 1896).

• There were, after 1926, conflicts between the University and the Chinese government and it was finally closed in 1952.

(Xiong, 2007)

1950-1965: learning fromthe Soviet Union

Mao Zedong urged the Chinese people to learn from foreign countries.• University management structures were based on Russian

models• Professors were invited from the Soviet Union to be consultants.• Russian was promoted as the principal foreign language• More than 10,000 students were sent to the Soviet Union and

Eastern Europe.

1978-2010: to learn from western developed countries

• Deng Xiaoping urged Chinese universities to learn from those who had advanced knowledge

• Most Chinese students chose to study in developed countries.

• Dozens of Chinese universities regarded Harvard, Oxford and other similar institutions as their model of world-class universities.

• Courses were reformed according to the practices of universities in the US, UK and other developed countries.

Destination countries of nationally funded studying abroad 1978-1980

USA UK France Germany Canada Japan Other0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

Percent by destination countries in 1978-1980

Percent by destination countries in 2007

Source: Miao Danguo & Yang Xiaojing, 2010

Destination countries of nationally funded students studying abroad in 2007

USA UK Ausralia Germany Canada Japan Other0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

Percent by destination countries in 2007

销售额

Source: Su Yan, 2010

Intentional destination countries of those students studying abroad in 2015

USA UK Ausralia Canada Germany Japan Other0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

Percent of studying intention abroad in 2015

销售额

Source: Qide Education Group Cooperation, 2015

International vision and Chinese Road

The simple assumption that Internationalization=Westernization=Americanization is being reconsidered by Chinese scholars.

Professor Zhou Yuanqing, President of the China Association of Higher Education has said that internationalization may be achieved by a global vision and walking along a Chinese road (2010) .

Professor Pan Mengyuan (a widely respected leading scholar) declared that internationalization should have a national character to avoid westernization and colonialization (2009).

The National Education Development Plan (2010-2020)

Current education policy strongly emphasizes internationalization. The key goals are to:

enhance international exchange and co-operation

introduce high quality educational resources

cultivate internationalized talents (i.e., develop international vision; understand international rules; develop the skills to take part in international affairs and competition)

The conclusion to Part 1 of this presentation (the history of internationalization in Chinese higher education)

The process of internationalization in Chinese higher education is still developing

The goal is for Chinese universities to be world class

The role of exchange and collaboration with other countries is likely to continue to be very important

There is an increasing emphasis on developing a distinctly Chinese approach to internationalization

Part 2: The current policy of ‘internationalization at home’

Challenges of internationalizing Chinese universities Many good students cannot study abroad due to various obstacles (e.g., high

fees). Increasing numbers of Chinese students (especially masters students) who

have studied abroad find it difficult to secure jobs. The satisfaction rate of international students in China is not high. Chinese

universities have not found effective approaches to improve international students’ Chinese language skills.

English-only teaching and bilingual teaching are not always successful in efforts to internationalize Chinese students

It is difficult to improve on-campus interactions between international and home students.

Very few foreign teachers are willing to stay for more than 1 year in China. Most Sino-foreign co-operation programs are not high quality, while the fees

for the Chinese campuses of world-class foreign universities are very high.

Current initiatives to internationalize Chinese universities

To strengthen cross-border internationalization

To achieve ‘internationalization at home’

Strategies for ‘internationalization at home’: an example of the University of International Business and Economy, Beijing

Aim: to cultivate internationalized talents at homeStrategies:(1)Internationalized majors and other courses

(2)Internationalized teachers (inviting in and sending out)

(3)Internationalized class teaching(bilingual or English-only)

(4)Internationalized textbooks

(5)Internationalized language environment(20% foreigners)

(6)Internationalized practice and short-term learning

(7)Internationalized culture exchanges

(8)Internationalized campus activities

Possible ways to improve ‘internationalization at home’ in Chinese

universities

Teacher education programs focusing on internationalization may be developed

Bilingual teaching courses may be developed (especially using MOOCs)

Chinese-Foreign students exchange and double diplomas may be increased

Methods for strengthening the internationalization of Chinese teachers

• To employ more PhDs who have graduated from foreign universities (most universities provide priority to those with overseas PhD qualifications)

• To send teachers to English-speaking countries to study teaching in English

• To provide teachers with pedagogical training in world class universities

• To provide attractive offers to foreign teachers in order to encourage them to work in China

MOOCs in China

• Since 2013, MOOCs have become very popular in Chinese education. Many MOOCs in China were available in 2014; most top Chinese universities are involved; several MOOC-unions have been formed.

19 February, 2015, the website of new MOOCs by Peking University and Alibaba

online.

A suggestion for bilingual teaching on MOOCs to improve ‘internationalization at home’

• Every bilingual teaching class on MOOCs should include 2 language versions (taught by two teachers in each home language – e.g. Chinese and English - on the same content).

• The 2 language-class should ensure that students will understand the content by using their home language, and will improve their understanding of another language.

• To guarantee that every student may study in another language, seminars, assignments and exams in both languages should be required (the whole process is monitored by computer-recordings).

• Teachers from two countries would have to exchange and cooperate via the internet to fulfil teaching tasks, discuss content, organize seminars and prepare to answer questions.

Thank you!