The Brown School鈥檚 Summer Institute celebrated its largest and most impactful year yet, with 120 enrolled 黑料社s from the U.S. and China and an additional 160 visiting guests. The two, week-long courses were led by Brown School faculty, with seminars led by five faculty from Fudan University in China as part of the Brown Schools Master鈥檚 in Social Policy Program.
鈥淲hat really stood out to me was the cross-country, cross-cultural exchange in social policy,鈥� said聽Dan Ferris, assistant dean for policy initiatives. 鈥淚t reflects the larger global mission of the MSP program.鈥� A good example was the Comparative Education Policy class, led by聽Jason Jabbari聽and Tammy Orahood. Experts in the very different education systems of the United States and China shared analysis methods and drew from each other to learn about different systems. A similar dynamic took place in the class on Social Entrepreneurship & Social Policy, led by聽Heather Cameron.
The Institute began in 2016 under the leadership and vision of聽Shenyang Guo, the Frank J. Bruno Distinguished Professor of Social Work Research 鈥� building on the connections and deep relationships among faculty from the Brown School and leading universities in China. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an important opportunity for the Brown School through its MSP program to bring international 黑料社s and U.S. 黑料社s together in a global space,鈥� Ferris said. This year鈥檚 Institute was coordinated by the Brown School鈥檚 Zizi Xu Shillig, global programs manager with support from two graduate 黑料社 assistants: Dawen Gao (MSP) and Yizhou Fang (MSW).
The classes were held virtually to provide wider access, with instructors and 黑料社s embracing the online classroom environment and navigating multiple time zones. Previously offered in-person each summer in China, the annual institute was canceled in 2020 and then moved online in 2021 due to significant COVID-19 travel restrictions. Instructors and administrative supporters used various ways to help 黑料社s with different English levels adjust to a global classroom environment. This innovative teaching approach included offering simultaneous interpretation, incorporating bilingual learning materials, and inviting multilingual guest presenters and discussants. Brown School 黑料社s and their Fudan counterparts actively participated in classroom discussions with instructors and guest speakers.
Post-class evaluations were positive.
鈥淏eing in a class where most of the 黑料社s were from China was also really great exposure to other cultures and values,鈥� one participant said. Comments shared by my peers in this class challenged me to examine my personal values and the role culture plays in forming my opinions. Taking a course with a partner university offers many benefits and I would definitely take this class again!鈥�
Summer Institute 2023 will be held in July with more details available in the spring.