Stevens Sends First Cohort to Tsinghua University for Summer Program
As part of a new agreement between Stevens Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University, two Stevens students have been selected to participate in the Experiencing China Tsinghua International Summer School program.
This international summer program is the first phase of the agreement between Stevens and Tsinghua. The two universities are working closely together to create mutually beneficial undergraduate student exchanges, joint Ph.D programs, co-Ph.D. programs and dual M.S. degrees for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and deep learning. The undergraduate student exchanges will begin this summer and involve comprehensive programs for each school.
The Tsinghua program will enable two Stevens students to participate in one of 13 China-focused curricular tracks and experience the country through excursions and onsite trips through fully paid scholarships.
Stevens students Mary McNeil and Matthew Falco were selected to receive those scholarships from a competitive group of candidates. McNeil is a chemical engineering sophomore who will be studying architecture during the program. Falco is a chemical engineering junior who will be studying innovation and entrepreneurship. Both are students in the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science (SES).
They are immensely grateful for the opportunity.
"I’ve never traveled outside the country," said Falco. "I’ve never even traveled outside of my own time zone. I wanted a global cultural immersion experience halfway around the world where I could meet and work with people coming from thousands of miles away. When I saw this opportunity with the Experiencing China Tsinghua International Summer School program, I thought I’d never have the chance to do anything like it again."
"I’ve also never been out the country," said McNeil. "I’m really excited to get a deep dive into this part of the world, and this immersive experience with Tsinghua sounds perfect."
"Collaboration with Tsinghua University will provide Stevens’ students fantastic international opportunities and experience to work with the best in the world," said SES dean Jean Zu. Zu is an alumna of Tsinghua and is helping to facilitate these programs.
The Stevens program will offer ten Tsinghua students the opportunity to conduct research in eight interdisciplinary SES labs. The first cohort of Tsinghua students participating in the Stevens Summer Program will arrive on July 2.