This trip took us to several cities in China including Hong Kong, to Korea and to Taiwan.
In keeping with the University’s strategy of internationalization, visits like this strengthen U of T Scarborough’s visibility and presence both as a distinct campus as well as a hallmark of the U of T brand. It’s an opportunity to build on existing relationships in the region, and also forge new ones. This particular trip coincided with key central University activities such as the Asia Pacific Graduation Ceremony in Hong Kong on November 26th, where 20 of the 65 graduands were from U of T Scarborough.
Recruitment was one key activity. We continue to attract outstanding students to study here through the Green Path Program, and through direct international admissions. These are important markets for us—not only China, but Korea and Taiwan, too. We met with students who were just admitted to U of T Scarborough through the Green Path program and their parents; the students will be on campus next summer and continue to full-time studies in the Fall. Through these meet and greet events, we showcase the excellent choice they’ve made in choosing our campus as their preferred study destination. In an increasingly competitive international student market, it’s important for us to highlight our value proposition and the importance we place on their experience we offer.
We continue to attract outstanding students to study here through the Green Path Program, and through direct international admissions.
We also set in place steps to strengthen research and student exchange partnerships with several universities in Hong Kong. This is particularly important for our Department of Management, which attracts a large international cohort and is also building a stronger profile— establishing deeper connections with leading business schools around the world.
To that end, we also met with select institutions and industry leaders. Of course our Management in International Business program is one of our elite programs; our MIB and Co-op students are not only in high demand for work terms—they seek global work term placements that are challenging. Hong Kong is a preferred destination for these students, given its location and a leading financial hub in the heart of Asia.
Absolutely. Alumni engagement is so important to us. Our more than 1,300 alumni in the region are part of our growing family—they are resources in their communities, mentors for current students, and we hope U of T Scarborough ambassadors and brand builders. We encourage our alumni to identify with their experience on our campus as well as being part of the broader U of T world. We now have five alumni chapters—in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai. None are exclusive—we are delighted to facilitate relationships across the U of T network.
We encourage our alumni to identify with their experience on our campus as well as being part of the broader U of T world.
During this trip we launched U of T Scarborough’s International Leadership Council, met with the Asia Advisory Board in Hong Kong, and met with members in Shanghai and Beijing, and held receptions for alumni including those who came to campus through the Green Path Program and another exclusively for Management alumni. In Seoul, Canadian Ambassador Eric Walsh co-hosted a reception and graciously welcomed our alumni. We launched the alumni chapter in Seoul, and we also focused on recruitment there, as we work to expand our market for international students. It was a fascinating time to be in Korea. In a world pre-occupied by tension in the region, the people there take recent events as business as usual. Finally, while I didn’t join my colleagues in Taiwan, the program there also focused on alumni, recruitment and on opportunities for co-op and internship placements for U of T Scarborough students.
We are fortunate that our alumni are extraordinarily loyal and have great affection for the University and for their connection to U of T Scarborough. They tell us that we have a special community here. We offer a terrific educational experience and that they form relationships on campus—and sometimes later, back at home—that they maintain over the years. The fact is, we enable these connections and we are also witness to them as they happen. What I saw on this trip is the U of T Scarborough community, in a different part of the world.
There is something else that is somewhat unique about many of our alumni and their families in this part of the world, particularly our alumni in Hong Kong. They are equally at home in Hong Kong and in Canada—their families have roots in both places. In fact I met one entrepreneurial young alum who is launching a business—Healthy Juice, which is a food establishment—both here in Canada and in Hong Kong, at the same time.
This is extraordinarily significant. We celebrated the signing of a gift agreement with entrepreneur and alum Tenniel Chu (BA 1999), joined by U of T President Meric Gertler, Management Chair David Zweig and others. Tenniel’s gift is truly transformative. It establishes a chair in sports management program here, as well as support for associated programming and an annual lecture. His gift also establishes the Tenniel Chu Management in International Business Awards, providing scholarships for our MIB students to gain the global experience that is central to their future business careers. Not only is his gift about our shared goals, it is also, I like to think, recognition of how far our campus has come since the opening of the world-class Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre—made possible in large part by the generosity and vision of our students—and how this is being seen around the world as a defining feature of our campus. As David Zweig says, these new opportunities are very, very exciting.
In Beijing, we signed an MOU with Bai Garden, which is located on the site of a formal royal garden of the Qing Dynasty—the last dynasty of Imperial China. It is a restaurant and more—Bai Garden is working to recapture the food and arts and culture of the Qing Dynasty; it is a significant restoration project. The owners have a second establishment in Markham. Our agreement outlines that a select number of students and faculty, particularly with our Culinaria Research Centre will travel to Beijing, and the Bai Garden will serve as a base for research into China—both contemporary society and also the historic past, including research on Qing Dynasty recipes. At the same time, the Markham restaurant will be a hub for research on the nature of Chinese food in both Canada and China, for example collecting oral histories from cooks to customers, and looking at how this kind of diasporic restaurant functions. The MOU presents an opportunity to further explore work we’ve begun here with the Harley Spiller Menu Collection, because as History Professor and Culinaria Research Centre Director Dan Bender would say, “Chinese cuisine is Chinese culture.” A university classroom doesn’t necessarily have to be four walls and desks—a classroom can have a kitchen in it, and it can be a local restaurant.
In fact it did. Because I’m interested in international sports policy and in staying in touch with China’s preparations for the winter Olympics in 2022, I was delighted to accept an invitation to speak at Beijing Sports University, the premier university in China when it comes to Olympic sport leadership and the development of athletes. I gave a talk on the international struggle against the IOC’s sex test and was fascinated to hear questions from the students there—most of whom pushed back on my interpretation of the ruling in the Dutee Chand test case, which you may know I’ve been very involved with. Dutee is an Indian athlete who is being supported by a partnership of academics in Canada, India and the U.S. The Government of India financially supports her case, and a Canadian law firm represents her. I addressed students in a packed lecture hall and welcomed the chance to have an open exchange. Interestingly, most of the students asked why we would challenge the IOC rules. In fact, one student spoke to me after the program and told me that no athlete in China would ever take this up.