Getting US education to China - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

A growing number of Chinese students flee to the US for decent education, including the daughter of upcoming president Xi Jinping. But large scale US initiatives might offer the same education soon at home, expects business analyst Shaun Rein in Forbes.

Shaun Rein:

But as attractive as studying abroad is for millions of Chinese students, more and more are returning to China after they graduate. Also, more don’t even want to leave China in the first place. They’d prefer to be closer to their families and not miss career opportunities in China. 

This creates opportunities for universities to bring American education directly to China. Both Duke and New York University are building campuses in the Shanghai area to offer full-time programs to students there, and executive education courses are already a proven success, Harvard’s Senior Executive Program in Shanghai among them. There are already many joint venture programs with American universities on the campuses of Chinese institutions, but the trend toward larger-scale initiatives seems clear.

But it might not be without challenges:

Getting the right people to teach in China is crucial. Among the top concerns potential students have mentioned in our research is the makeup of faculty. Often professors from the home institution don’t want to move to China for long stretches. Universities need to find the right mix of their own faculty, international faculty hired by them, and people from or based in China to fit a program’s needs and be attractive enough to appeal to students yet maintain academic strength and brand integrity.

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Shaun Rein is the author of "The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that Will Disrupt the World". More about his book at Storify.