Finally over her jet lag — but not yet over a cold — University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin said her spring break trip to China was a huge success.

Martin said her goals for the trip included raising UW’s international visibility, deepening connections between UW and its alumni in China and establishing partnerships between UW and top universities in China.

“We really accomplished a lot more than I ever dreamed we would accomplish,” Martin said.

In terms of visibility, Martin said while UW already enjoys a positive reputation in China, the media attention her delegation received from local outlets drew more attention to both the school and the state.

Professor of kinesiology Li Li Ji, who was a part of Martin’s international delegation, echoed Martin’s sentiments. He said many in China praised UW as the “public ivy league,” adding he felt every student he met with was interested in coming to UW.

Martin said she also saw a keen interest in studying at UW from both students and parents.

Martin said another component of her trip was meeting with business leaders — especially those in the biotechnology industry — as potential investors in UW research. She said as a gift, the delegation brought Wisconsin cultivated ginseng to these meetings, and everyone was impressed with the quality of ginseng that could be created in Wisconsin.

She said a delegation from some of the businesses have expressed an interest in coming to visit UW in the near future.

Dean of the UW Division of International Studies and delegation member Gilles Bousquet said the main focus of the trip for him was to collaborate with Chinese universities to sign “memorandums of understandings,” essentially official partnerships. He said the delegation met with eight top universities and signed MOUs with five of them.

He said one of his favorite moments of the trip was their visit to Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. He said the campus environment and the comprehensive nature of the university reminded him of UW.

“I think there is a strong possibility for exchanges,” Bousquet said.

Martin said the delegation would be getting together next week to discuss their next steps. She said in the short term she wants to follow up on every visit she made, as well as prepare for visits from Chinese delegations.

Martin said the group will also be looking at developing a long-term strategic approach to where it is most important to have connections in the hopes of getting more UW students to China and more Chinese students to Madison.

She added deciding which institutions to pursue partnerships with will also be an important discussion amongst the group.

Martin had previously said she wanted to follow up her visit to China with trips to India and Brazil, but said she now thinks it is important to finish her work in China.

“We had such a rich experience in China that it may be important for us to dwell there,” she said.