Academy aims to increase worldwide understanding of China

After five years' development, Peking University's Yenching Academy aims to become a world-renowned master's program and a major platform for youth exchanges between China and other countries.

Fan Shiming, the academy's associate dean, said scholars are immersed in an intensive learning environment where they can explore China and its past, present and future roles in the world. The goal is to provide new generations of global citizens with a nuanced understanding of China.

The academy enrolls some 120 new scholars from China and abroad annually. International scholars comprise about 80 percent of the student body, while those from China make up the remaining 20 percent, Fan said.

The academy has already recruited four cohorts of 440 scholars from 73 countries and regions and 222 universities. Most of them are from renowned institutions such as Peking University, Harvard University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, the University of Chicago and Stanford University, he said.

All scholars receive the Yenching fellowship, which covers tuition, accommodations, a travel stipend for a return ticket to Beijing, basic medical insurance and a stipend to cover campus living costs and field study expenses.

"Interdisciplinary learning, cross-cultural learning and integration of classroom teaching and fieldwork are the most important components of the academy," Fan said.

Scholars can choose courses from six research areas and engage in field studies and research related to their specific areas of interest, he said.

"On the one hand, we integrate resources from inside and outside the university. Within the program, scholars can choose disciplinary courses from different departments. To supplement these courses and broaden students' horizons, we invite professors from renowned universities and distinguished guests from all over the globe to deliver lectures and speeches to our scholars," he added.

Students can also take part in a range of extracurricular activities and field studies.

For example, site visits to startup companies and internet giants in Zhejiang province have helped students to experience the country's rapid development, and their trips to ancient sites in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and Dunhuang, Gansu province, also helped them to understand the nation's rich history and culture, he said, adding that students have been to 27 different areas nationwide.

He said all the trips help scholars to gain exposure to different aspects of China. The field trips and research opportunities provided by the academy show that the classroom expands beyond Peking University, he added.