Miami, June 23, 2014 – Twenty-two Miami Dade College (MDC) students have been selected to attend a unique four-week international exchange program at the Beijing International Chinese College (BICC) in Beijing, China. The selected students represent four MDC campuses with majors in international relations, psychology, physics, and mass communications. Of the total 130 that will attend the program internationally, MDC students are the largest group from the U.S.
Held from July 7 – August 3, this year’s program is significantly longer – four weeks instead of two last year – in order to maximize the students’ acquisition of linguistic proficiency and cultural versatility.
Sponsored by Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing and organized by the Beijing International Chinese College (BICC), the program features an experiential learning curriculum that targets mastery of Chinese at the intermediate level, as well as a proficient grasp of traditional Chinese culture through in-depth immersion experiences, all of which the BICC covers in full for all its scholarship awardees.
While the signature curriculum of the BICC has several enduring components, such as traditional manual arts, tours to historical landmarks, visits to local families and major centers of culture and learning, there have been significant upgrades to this year’s program. To better serve the pre-professional needs of participating students, the BICC has integrated film, physical education, technology and lectures on national affairs to this year’s curriculum.
“These pedagogical and curriculum changes that favor experiential learning are enhancements that will challenge our students to become engaged global citizens of the 21st century,” said Dr. Xuejun Yu, director of the acclaimed Confucius Institute at MDC.
The Institute, which is now in its fourth year of operation at MDC, has played a pivotal role in the college’s ability to expand its study-abroad offerings in China. Thanks to generous funding from Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and MDC, the Institute has enabled more than 1,200 students of all socio-economic backgrounds and nationalities to take Chinese language and culture classes. Enrollment in these classes, in turn, has helped the same students benefit from all-expenses-paid transfer terms and degree-granting programs at prestigious Chinese universities.
“The eagerness and intellectual curiosity that MDC students bring to our programs have earned the college such recognition that the BICC has enthusiastically expanded its recruitment from MDC,” said Dr. Yu. “For the second year in a row, they make up the largest percentage of admitted American college students. This is a select pool which includes students from distinguished universities such as John Hopkins, the University of Chicago and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, among others.”
Through increased international exposure, the Institute aims to assist MDC students to become competitive professionals, citizens and leaders. The increase in MDC students attending the prestigious BICC Summer Camp experience this year is clearly a testament to the impactful and high caliber instruction that the Institute extends to the college, the community and the future workforce of South Florida.
For more information about the Beijing International Chinese College summer camp, please call 305-237-7754, or visit MDC’s Confucius Institute at www.mdc.edu/mdcglobal/ci.