Peking University, Beijing, May 15, 2009: Summer Schools have run for several years in the world. Many universities have opened for both students and people from outside the universities during the summer holiday in order to improve the educational quality as well as to make contributions to the society by providing classic courses, or organizing programs of scientific research and overseas study. Many world-class universities have gained remarkable achievements using this model. In China, the first summer school was started by Peking University (PKU) in 2004. Since then, many other universities have set up summer schools in succession. PKU Summer School has provided its distinctive basic and general courses to the society and invited famous experts from home and abroad to give classes or seminars to broaden the students’ learning resources. The summer school has not only enriched the teaching system but also explored another new way to serve the society.
Since 2004, PKU has already held the summer school for five times. Two new programs, PKU Summer School International and PKU Summer School for High School Students will be introduced into 2009 PKU Summer School. All courses of the PKU Summer School International will be taught in English, which are for international students and some domestic students. The courses of the PKU Summer School for High School Students are designed based on the reform of high school courses, which are mainly for high school students from Beijing.
PKU Summer School for College Students: a variety of classic courses to broaden the learning resources
There will be more than 50 courses in the 2009 summer school. In addition to a small number of courses which will be only for PKU students, the majority of courses will be open to both PKU students and people from outside PKU. About 2400 PKU students have already registered for courses since April 26 when the program began to accept applications. The application system will be open to the public from May 15.
The courses mainly involve general education courses and some popular optional courses, such as History of Cultural Exchange for Chinese and Japanese, World Heritage in China (In English), and Healthy Personality Psychology etc. There are also some courses given by prominent professors and renowned experts from overseas universities in order to broaden the learning resources.
PKU Summer School for High School Students: college teachers taking part in the reform of high school courses
The PKU Summer School for High School Students is one of the highlights in the 2009 summer school which attracts attention of many high school students and their parents. It is also the first time in a Chinese university to provide optional courses for high school. The aim of this program is to meet the requirements of high school courses’ reform. Therefore, PKU has designed courses covering different disciplines which are suitable for high school students. Through theses courses, the students are provided with a chance to feel the college study atmosphere in advance, broaden their knowledge, and explore their interests in subjects. In the mean time, they also want to find a new way to promote the educational revolution in China through this program.
There are 7 courses in this summer school for high school students. Each student can only choose two from these courses including Mathematical Thinking, Digital and Intelligent World, Modern Astronomy, Seismology, Life of the Past, and Internet Information Retrieval and Utilization. These courses are not directly related to the college entrance examination, but paying more attention to the non-high-school courses. Two high schools have already confirmed that the credits completed in the summer school can be transferred.
PKU Summer School International: global students have classes together
PKU Summer School International offers nine courses which are mainly designed for foreign students as well as some domestic students. The content of the courses focuses on the study of China which aims at enhancing foreign students’ understanding of China’s reform and current situation, and the communication between young students from different countries.
The students from Yale University, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, and the National University of Singapore will have classes with PKU students together. From May 15, the application system of this program will also open to some domestic universities, which will provide a novel platform for study and communication of global students.
Every summer, PKU selects some of its best students for exchange programs abroad in some of the most prestigious universities in order to enrich their knowledge, and develop their global outlook. In this way, PKU improves its internationalization in the process of building a world-class university.
Edited By: Seren
Translated By: Su Juan
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
