University of Minnesota Morris Chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen traveled to Sanya, China to participate in the 2024 SEP EduConnect International Symposium, hosted by the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange. Harvey Charles, University of Minnesota vice provost for international programs, and Jennifer Zych Herrmann, with the UMN Morris Office of Advancement, also attended the symposium.
The University of Minnesota was one of only four American colleges to present as part of the conference. Others include the University of Arizona, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of Tennessee.
As part of the four-day conference, Ericksen gave a presentation about UMN Morris and participated in a panel discussion focused on the opportunities and challenges of creating a diverse and integrated collaboration on education. Participants in the symposium included leaders from the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges and from the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange, both part of China’s Ministry of Education, and representatives from more than ten high-ranking Chinese universities. One goal of the symposium was to foster new partnerships between universities, and Ericksen has already planned a follow up meeting with one of these Chinese universities. UMN Morris has worked with Chinese universities since 2005 to encourage Chinese students to consider studying at Morris.
In addition to attending the conference, Ericksen and Herrmann met with alumni in Shanghai, and visited staff and students at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE), UMN Morris’s longtime partner.
2024 SEP EduConnect International Symposium
