Introduction

The Tsinghua University Summer Teaching Program by Overseas Scholars

As we all know, a fundamental improvement in the quality of education is key to the future of China. It is also, however, an immense task. Last year, Tsinghua University and a couple of organizations in the US have made an important step towards that goal. A number of prominent Chinese scholars were invited from the U.S. to teach a short course at Tsinghua University during the summer. While it was a short program, its overwhelming success brought far-reaching implications to higher education at Tsinghua and beyond. For this reason, the university has decided to host the program again this summer and is inviting interested candidates to apply. Last year, the visiting-scholar program was jointly organized by the Tsinghua Education Foundation and the Stanford China Education Foundation (SCEF) and sponsored by the T.O. Liu Memorial Education Foundation (Tsinghua) and SCEF. It involved inviting eight outstanding Chinese scholars from the U.S. to teach a 2-week course at Tsinghua during the summer. The courses were formally part of Tsinghua's summer curriculum and could be taken for credit. The teachings made a deep impression on both students and faculty. Not only were they thrilled by the leading-edge material presented, but they are also struck by the way in which the material was taught. It was like a breath of fresh air that opened up a new horizon to their understanding of the process of education. It served as a powerful catalyst to much needed education reforms.

In fact, the university was so impressed with the results that it decided to annualize the program and to formally incorporate it into the graduate curriculum. This year, the program will take place from August 10 to August 21. It will be jointly organized by the Stanford China Education Foundation and the Tsinghua Alumni Association. We strongly encourage qualified candidates to apply to this meaningful and prestigious program.

Qualifications
Candidates must be Chinese who have received education in Mainland China and are currently holding a position in a major US university or corporation. They should have outstanding achievements in any of the following fields:
1. General research in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Material Science, Finance, Law or Economics.
2. Advanced technologies in semiconductor, computer networking, software, communication, biotechnology, etc.
3. Technology Application: observation or research on how to translate scientific and technological knowledge into concrete new processes, services, and/or products.
4. Policy: observation or research dealing with the building of industry infrastructure such as technology parks, the strategic direction for particular industries and with educational, social and organizational issues.
5. Global Business Environment: observation or research on responding to a rapidly changing and ultra competitive global environment. Topics include, but not limited to, foreign investment or licensing, market liberalization, the role of private sectors, market analysis and forecast in the technology-based global competition, and environmental issues.

Application Information
The application deadline is May 15, 1998. Late applications will be considered on an available basis. The selection of topics and candidates is conducted by an organizing committee in the US together with Tsinghua University in Beijing. Eight people will be selected for this year's program.

Interested candidates should email a copy of their resume and the proposed topic to the following address: liyun_peng@hotmail.com. For questions, please send an email to the same address or call Liyun Peng at (408) 739-8165. You can also visit our website for more information on the program, the organizers and the sponsors: www.scef.org

Program Information
Dates:August 10 - 21, 1998
Teaching Load:3 hours of lecture per day, Monday through Friday.
Expenses:Travel expenses, plus room and board are all covered by the sponsors.