Major campus events coordinated by the Wisconsin China Resource have included:
- “China and U.S. University Intellectual Property,” a day-long conference on creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurship and confronting the myths and realities of working with IP in China, was held in Madison on Nov. 13, 2019. Participants included faculty from UW-Madison and China’s Nanjing University, along with Wisconsin lawyers, CEOs and IP experts. The conference follows a related workshop held in Nanjing in May 2019, organized by the UW Law School’s East Asian Legal Studies Center and the Nanjing University Law School.
The Red Cap Lecture Series on China & Global Economics, 2014-18, funded by Wade and Bev Fetzer, and featuring talks on China’s economy by Stephen Roach (alum and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia), Nicholas Lardy (alum and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics), Yao Yang (alum and dean of the National School of Development at Peking University) and William Overholt (Harvard).- Screening of the PBS documentary “The Chinese Exclusion Act” in 2017 along with a panel discussion with the filmmakers. Attendance of about 200 for this series of events.
- Collaborations with the Chazen Museum of Art to offer student translators for two major art exhibitions (Xu Bing’s “Background Story” in 2016, and “Contemporary Chinese Art” in 2015), and partnering with the School of Human Ecology to bring a 2013 photography exhibit on Sichuan, “Evolving Landscapes,” to campus.
New Chinese Student Welcome Sessions
The Wisconsin China Resource launched a new, China-based “student welcome” program in 2017, designed to encourage new students preparing for the fall semester at UW-Madison to take ownership of their undergraduate years, including overcoming language and culture barriers, participating in the campus community and joining classroom discussions. Spring sessions were held in Shanghai and Beijing in 2017-19, in collaboration with campus student organizations.
The Mendota Project
Students have long used the poetic phrase 梦到她, pronounced “meng-dao-ta” and translating to “dreaming of her,” to refer to Lake Mendota, a favorite campus hangout. Through the Mendota Project, the Wisconsin China Initiative seeks to document the rich history between the UW and China through student research projects, print and web publications and more. See the History tab to learn more about this project.
Study Abroad Opportunities and UW-Featured Programs
Visiting International Student Program (Madison, WI)
The Visiting International Student Program (VISP) welcomes international undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in short-term non-degree study at UW-Madison. Created by the Division of Continuing Studiesin 2012, VISP has already welcomed many students from China for one or two semesters. VISP students take regular UW-Madison courses before returning to their home university to finish their degrees. If you are interested in applying for a full degree program at UW-Madison, please visit Admissions.
UW Art, Design and Wellness in China (virtual)
This four-week summer course, led by UW-Madison Professor Wei Dong, examines how the physical environment affects human behavior with special attention to the application of Feng Shui.
(This program has been virtual since 2020.)
UW Summer Engineering Program in China
The College of Engineering offers specialized classes for credit through an annual summer program held at Zhejiang University. The program involves UW-Madison faculty teaching engineering courses at ZU’s Hangzhou campus.