Cheney Mason/Winonan

Winona State university’s exchange partner since 2013, Hebei Foreign Studies University (HFSU), visited the campus from Oct. 13 through 16 for a delegation.

Chairman of the Board and President of HFSU Jianzhong Sun, accompanied by Wei Xi, Zhen Wei, Wei Chen and Lihua Zuo, came to Winona State to further the partnership.

Winona State’s Assistant Vice President of International Programs and Services, Carolyn O’Grady said the delegation was important, but unique.

“This is the first time that I am aware of that they actually sent a delegation to us,” O’Grady said. “It’s very important from the off campus study perspective to have exchanges between institutions because it’s very cost-effective for students.”

O’Grady emphasized the importance of conversation regar-ding additional ways the universities may continue partnership.

The delegation participated in a number of important activities while visiting Winona State.

“We have them meet with our president and provost. That is a very important meeting because we want the heads of the institutions to meet,” O’Grady said.

They also met with different colleges at Winona State that HFSU is interested in, such as the College of Business, College of Education, College of Computer Science and College of Liberal Arts.

Between institutions, HSFU was able to establish an early childhood center in China, thanks to help from Winona State.

“This is a highly unusual thing in China. They even got Chinese Department of Education Administration permission and approval for it. That’s a really big deal,” O’Grady said. “The way education is done in China is very different from the way it is done in the States.”

The delegation visited Winona State’s Maxwell Hall Children’s Center to show how it was run in the U.S.

Some Chinese students at Winona State had the opportunity to meet for lunch with the delegation. The group was given tours of the community and met with Winona faculty who had previously gone to HFSU.

Not only does Winona State have partnerships in China, but in other countries as well that are available opportunities for students to study outside of Winona State, O’Grady said.

“Partnerships give students really affordable ways to study off campus and getting come of their major, minor, or graduation credits met,” O’Grady said.

Having the delegation come to further relationships between the institutions is crucial for continuing to offer the exchange, O’Grady said.

Students from Winona State have the opportunity to study at HFSU for the same cost because of the partnership, as well as students attending school in China who want to come to Winona State.

“This is all for the purpose of providing students and faculty with opportunities for research or study in ways that can be really meaningful,” O’Grady said. “This is just a piece of a bigger picture about what kind of global engagement should our institution take part in.”