Over the summer, four faculty went to China for about two weeks to teach as part of the Southwest University Global Immersion Program.

This required a proposal about what each professor would teach and why it was important to students in China. About 100 professors from 25 different countries were chosen to teach this summer.

About the MSU faculty who went

The professors who taught in China this summer were:

• Babur Mirza, assistant professor of biology
• Patrick Sullivan, assistant professor of mathematics
• Sanjay Tewari, assistant teaching professor of engineering
• Stephanie Thomas, instructor of engineering

Tewari taught water and wastewater engineering over the summer to master’s and PhD students, as well as some Chinese faculty.

“Meeting with local faculty, getting to know about their research and visiting research labs were some of the things that I really enjoyed academically,” Tewari said.

Sullivan also enjoyed teaching students in his introductory probability and statistics course.

“The students were wonderful. I have never received an ovation at the end of a lesson,” Sullivan said.

This was Tewari and Sullivan’s first trip to China. Each were surprised and impressed by the school and their experiences.

“Interacting with local students and faculty in and outside of the classes was a good experience,” Tewari said. “They introduced me to the local culture and various fun activities that locals do on a daily basis.”

Tewari was also grateful for the accommodations his hosts made for his vegetarian diet.

One thing Sullivan and Tewari noted was the language barrier.

“I have much greater empathy for students coming to the United States with English as their second language,” Sullivan said. “I am much more sensitive to the barriers they face.”