Campus Restart

For the first time in three years, the campus feels like a campus again.  The Fall semester is starting.  Classes will be conducted in person.  Most students are back on campus.  

University students have really been short-changed in the past three years.  Classes, when they do take place, have mostly been online.  Much of the hands-on learning experience were missing.  

Travelling have been close to impossible.  Student exchange, offshore placement, offshore (including international) service-learning, … have essentially been non-existent.   Gallant efforts have been made to conduct offshore service-learning and exchange online.  But it is not really the same.  

It is truly questionable what is the worth of the education that they have been receiving during these past 3 years.  

Now everything is restarting with a vengeance.  We sent out two international service-learning teams in summer 2022.  We plan to send out 10 teams in summer 2023.  There is still much uncertainty regarding Mainland China.  We heard that universities in Mainland China have been told that their students cannot go out to their community without special permission.  It seems we will not be able to send teams to Mainland China in the near future.  Hence we are focusing on foreign projects.  And we are working hard on re-starting projects that have been on-hold, and developing new ones.  On a larger scale.  But also very carefully, because much restrictions and risks remain.  We owe it to the students to make a good, strong effort.