With University of Wisconsin traditionally maintaining an international focus, the university is faced with determining successful ways to maintain its reputation abroad while balancing practicality surrounding its interests, especially in China.
With over 12 percent of the student body represented by international students this semester, according to the Office of the Registrar, the university works through a variety of avenues to maintain an international presence.
The university expressed particular interest in China, having founded its Shanghai Innovation Office in 2012 as a pilot program for establishing UW’s presence abroad. However, with UW’s three-year commitment to the program up for renewal this summer, officials have expressed ambivalence about the future of the office.
“When it comes to where we are with the Shanghai Office, this is a time when we’re looking at our options and our priorities, including the priorities of our partners and what will serve the university’s interests moving forward,” Kerry Hill, UW Division of International Studies spokesperson, said. “We recognize that because of China’s importance in the world, we need to be engaged and present there.”
Hill said a major focus of the Shanghai office is to coordinate UW faculty to train Chinese partners in intellectual property, biomedical research and sustainability.
According to a UW statement, when the office began, its goals were to leverage UW’s reputation and advance Wisconsin’s economic interests. UW has provided $200,000 per year for the project, accompanied by funding from UW’s Chinese partners, Hill said.
Even though a decision is yet to be made regarding the future of the office, Hill said UW remains committed to China.
“There is general agreement in the importance of UW-Madison being engaged and present in China – the largest country in the world, by population and a major player on the international stage,” he said in an email to The Badger Herald.
While the Shanghai office provides one component of bolstering UW’s presence there, word-of-mouth and rankings are the main avenues through which Chinese international students gather an opinion of UW, according to ASM Diversity Committee Chair Dolly Wang.
“I looked a lot at the rankings,” Wang said. “Chinese high school students looking for schools in the United States have an agency helping them do the whole application, so my agency recommended a lot of schools for me at different levels according to the ranking.”
While Wang said she recommends UW to Chinese students applying to U.S. universities, the conversation among students in China largely focuses on Ivy League schools, she said.
According to Emilie Dickson, assistant director for global initiatives at UW, the university’s admissions office puts forth most of its international effort in networking.
“Here in our office, our international strategy is based primarily on networking and working with the various stakeholders who work with international students overseas,” she said. “We connect with high school guidance counselors through various professional association and work with alumni who are overseas [who] can be a very valuable resource.”
Reflecting UW admission’s general strategy, Hill said UW has developed a strong reputation that hasn’t required a lot of direct marketing.
“I really can’t say we’ve tried to push our own brand there. I think we have a strong alumni base there,” he said. “The Wisconsin Alumni Association has strong alumni chapters in Shanghai [and] Beijing, as well as other major areas in the region.”
