Southeast Technical Representatives visit Quzhou, China 

Creating global citizens through education

In September, President James Johnson lead a group of Minnesota State College – Southeast Technical representatives to Red Wing Sister City – Quzhou, China – to strengthen our ties for potential teacher and student exchange between Southeast Technical and Quzhou College of Technology.

"We, as a college, deal in training people for a global workforce. We strive to put forth well rounded students with good skills who understand that dealing with other cultures is part of being a global citizen." President Johnson went on to say, "The ability to have experiences to understand another culture is valuable not only in values learned, but also in technology."

Many of the programs offered at Quzhou College of Technology are similar to the programs we offer here at Southeast Technical, including electronics, sciences, automotive and nursing, just to name a few.

The Southeast Technical representatives spent a great deal of time with students and faculty at the College, asking questions about their programs and culture and answering questions about ours. Jo Poncelet, Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recalls how willing the students were to share everything from culture to knowledge and more, saying "I think this relationship could be a true give and take benefiting students and faculty at both schools."

Southeast Technical President Johnson and Quzhou College of Technology Vice-President Wu Jian signed an agreement of understanding to start exploring student and faculty exchanges between the two colleges. In addition there are intentions to begin online language and culture trainings in which students would learn from faculty in the other country. This will allow for a greater number of students and faculty to reap the benefits of this cultural exchange.

Read more in the 2012-2013 Connections magazine!