Gift Spurs Program to Study Clean Energy in China
A group of 12 to 20 Northwestern University students will travel each of the next five years to China to study the development of clean energy technologies in China, thanks to a gift from the Wanxiang America Corporation, based in Elgin, Illinois.
Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was among the dignitaries who participated in a ceremony on Northwestern’s campus on August 24, marking the signing of an agreement between Northwestern and Wanxiang that will enable undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members, to gain experience with green technology issues in China.
Daley talked about the critical role that universities and their graduates always have played in addressing the most pressing issues confronting the world, particularly citing Northwestern. The Wanxiang Fellows Program, he said, is a wonderful example of how universities can involve students in global issues and further the China/U.S. relationship.
“We have a moral obligation to have more of our students study in China,” he said. “This is the only way we can confront many of the issues that can’t be confronted by government.”
The Wanxiang Fellows will spend a month in Beijing studying Chinese language, culture, and history in a Northwestern international development program and then spend two weeks at the Wanxiang Polytechnic College in Hangzhou, China. The program at Wanxiang will focus on sustainable clean energy technology. Wanxiang is committing up to $1.5 million in support over the next five years for this program, which begins in the summer of 2012.
Daley is the co-chair of the China/U.S. “100,000 Strong Initiative,” a national effort designed to dramatically increase the number of American students studying in China.
Guoqiang Yang, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, referred to the Wanxiang fellowships as a great outgrowth of the “100,000 Strong Initiative,” which, he said, ultimately “will benefit the world.”
President Morton Schapiro, who has traveled to China once a year for many years, talked about the Wanxiang fellowship program as an economist’s dream, a mutually advantageous trade that involves the not-for-profit and private sectors and is good for Northwestern, the U.S. and China.
Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was among the dignitaries who participated in a ceremony on Northwestern’s campus on August 24, marking the signing of an agreement between Northwestern and Wanxiang that will enable undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members, to gain experience with green technology issues in China.
Daley talked about the critical role that universities and their graduates always have played in addressing the most pressing issues confronting the world, particularly citing Northwestern. The Wanxiang Fellows Program, he said, is a wonderful example of how universities can involve students in global issues and further the China/U.S. relationship.
“We have a moral obligation to have more of our students study in China,” he said. “This is the only way we can confront many of the issues that can’t be confronted by government.”
The Wanxiang Fellows will spend a month in Beijing studying Chinese language, culture, and history in a Northwestern international development program and then spend two weeks at the Wanxiang Polytechnic College in Hangzhou, China. The program at Wanxiang will focus on sustainable clean energy technology. Wanxiang is committing up to $1.5 million in support over the next five years for this program, which begins in the summer of 2012.
Daley is the co-chair of the China/U.S. “100,000 Strong Initiative,” a national effort designed to dramatically increase the number of American students studying in China.
Guoqiang Yang, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, referred to the Wanxiang fellowships as a great outgrowth of the “100,000 Strong Initiative,” which, he said, ultimately “will benefit the world.”
President Morton Schapiro, who has traveled to China once a year for many years, talked about the Wanxiang fellowship program as an economist’s dream, a mutually advantageous trade that involves the not-for-profit and private sectors and is good for Northwestern, the U.S. and China.
