Canton, Ohio is the global destination of a lifetime for 11 students from Shenzhen, China, marking a first for a Â鶹´«Ã½ regional campus. On August 31, the Stark Campus in Jackson Township will be the first of the Kent State’s seven regional campuses to reach across the world and partner with an international university, China’s Shenzhen Polytechnic, hosting students and a faculty member for a semester.
Each visiting student will enroll in 12 credit hours of English as a second language courses at Â鶹´«Ã½ at Stark. They will also be educated in American culture and business.
Discussions of the program began when Bei Cai, associate professor of communication studies at the Stark Campus, was contacted by a Shenzhen Polytechnic colleague who reached out to her about a partnership.
“We would like to grow Kent State Stark’s global studies and multicultural studies programs, says A. Bathi Kasturiarachi, assistant dean of academic affairs. “This is a part of our mission and strategy plan, to have more of a global presence.â€
In addition to their academic curriculum, the international students will be involved in many different ways, from visiting attractions in Canton and Akron, as well as day trips in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh area to peer mentorship programs.
Since Kent State Stark is a non-residential, regional campus, a contract was created with a nearby hotel to house students for the semester and provide them with transportation to campus, Kasturiarachi says.
The Stark Campus and Shenzhen Polytechnic administrators are making plans to continue this program in future semesters. Chinese students are currently being recruited the spring semester. Kent State Stark is also interested in sending Stark students to China, according to Kasturiarachi.
For more information or to arrange interviews regarding the Shenzhen Polytechnic students at Kent State Stark, please contact Cynthia Williams at cdwillia@kent.edu or 330-244-3262.