WKU Makes Innovations in the Model of China-US Cultural Exchange under the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

WKU has actively explored new models of China-US cultural exchanges under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and elaborately organized and held two sessions of an international online internship program virtually. Since the start of the program in March 2021, more than 60 Chinese and American students have participated in the campus management of each other’s universities, expanding their international vision and gaining extraordinary international internship experience.

More than 20 departments and colleges of WKU and Kean University have participated in the program and became “employers” of interns, including the China-US Cultural Exchange Center of WKU, the Chancellor’s Office, and the College of Liberal Arts of Kean University, centers for international studies of the two universities, and the Career Development Center.

Dr. Xu Shuli, Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs and Professor at the China-US Cultural Exchange Research Center of WKU has always been enthusiastic about promoting China-US cultural exchanges. As quoted “KU and WKU are bridges for exchanges between the youth of China and the US. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has brought inconvenience to the exchange of students from the two universities, it has also made us more creative. The universities train high-quality talents with international visions and familiar with international rules, and the online internship provides a platform for students to learn about the operation of relevant departments of the two universities and solve practical problems with the knowledge they have learned.”

Dr. Zhu Haina, Director of the Center for International Studies of WKU, is committed to strengthening inter-school exchanges between China and the US. As one of the sponsors of the project, as quoted, “In keeping with the trend of the times, the China-US online internship program has avoided the impacts of the pandemic, eliminated the geographical and time limits, and connected Chinese and American students with international educators to enable both interns and ‘international employers’ to benefit from the transnational cooperation. Most students commented that the program has expanded their worldview and enhanced their cross-cultural communication skills, which is the intention of our sponsoring departments (the Center for International Studies and the Career Development Center) and is a reflection of our mission – Let students enjoy foreign resources and cultivated students with international vision.”

Jessica Barzilay, Executive Director of the Center for International Studies of Kean University, expressed that they hope to launch ways to ensure that students can continue to promote cross-cultural exchanges during the period when distance learning and overseas exchanges are suspended.

Wang Qianqian, a teacher at the Career Development Center of WKU, believed that students truly feel the similarities and differences in working styles in different cultural contexts by taking part in the online internship program and can better adapt to the diverse employment conditions in the future.

As the “employer” of two American interns, Zheng Siyi, a teacher at the Center for International Studies of WKU, arranged for the interns to provide guidance on the selection of courses for the exchange students of WKU to the US and assist the center in producing the exchange student recruitment brochure. Zheng is witness to the growth of the students during the internship.