Developing Personal Strengths for Future Success

July 13 – 18

Program dates

18,500 RMB / 2950 USD

Tuition

High School
Students

Who can apply

English

Language

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Contact

Doris Deng

Program Assistant for Global Summer Institute
Office of International Relations
ziqin.deng@dukekunshan.edu.cn
T: (+86) 0512-3665-7656

Overview

The “Developing Personal Strengths for Future Success Program” is a 6-day, 5-night initiative offered by Duke Kunshan University (DKU), designed to holistically enhance high school students’ critical thinking, communication, collaboration skills, emotion management, and other vital aspects of personal growth. This program lays a solid foundation for their future career development and personal skills enhancement. Participants will engage with top-tier educational resources from China and beyond, fostering intellectual exchanges with peers from diverse cultural backgrounds. This cross-cultural interaction not only broadens their horizons but also cultivates lasting friendships.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, where information technology has intertwined cultures and ideas into a diverse global society, future leaders must possess not only a strong academic base but also critical thinking, innovation, adaptability, digital literacy, and adept social skills. High school students access global information and resources via the internet, expanding their knowledge and perspectives, they also confront fierce job market competition, intricate interpersonal dynamics, and heightened psychological pressures. Thus, our program is tailored to comprehensively elevate students’ overall qualities, bolster their social adaptability, and equip them for the future through international educational resources and methodologies.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will master more fluent language communication skills through personalized instruction and diverse real-life practical experiences.
  • Immersion in a multicultural environment will foster a deeper understanding and respect for global cultures, laying a solid foundation for international exchanges.
  • Students will learn to rationally analyze complex issues, critically evaluate various evidence, and form independent and profound insights.
  • Cultivation of independent thinking and problem-solving skills will prepare students well for future academic research and careers.
  • Students will acquire effective teamwork techniques, learning to leverage their strengths within a team to accomplish tasks collectively.
  • They will build strong interpersonal relationships and develop the ability to express their ideas clearly and persuasively.
  • Students will master effective emotion management tools, learning to maintain calm and a positive mindset under pressure.
  • Improvement in overall mental health will enhance learning efficiency and quality of life.
  • Through participation in diverse activities and challenges, students will discover their potential and interests.
  • They will learn to set goals, plan for the future, and lay a solid foundation for their professional development and life planning.

Program Highlights

  • Thoughtfully Designs Courses: Leading students to delve into global hot topics, ranging from technological frontiers to environmental protection, economic trends to cultural exchanges.
  • Optional Daily Language Session: Specially invite DKU students as tutors during extracurricular time.
  • Professional Feedback, Speech Refinement: The group speech segment invites industry-seasoned mentors to provide on-site guidance, from content conception to presentation skills, offering thorough critiques and precise feedback.
  • Official Certification: Upon completion of the program, each participant will receive an official certificate of completion from DKU. 

Program Instructors

Kevin Sprague

Lecturer in English Languager
Duke Kunshan University

He teaches academic writing courses focused on intercultural communication and argumentation across disciplines. He also teaches oral communication electives in debate and public speaking. He received his M.A. from Pennsylvania State University in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2015, where he focused on Second Language Writing and Theories of Second Language Acquisition. He served as an English Language Fellow sponsored by the U.S. Department of State from 2015-2018. In that capacity, he traveled through China providing training in teaching methodologies. His primary interests are in debating, public speaking, and teacher development. His personal interests include independent language learning.

Dongmian Zou

Assistant Professor of Data Science
Duke Kunshan University

Dongmian Zou is an Assistant Professor of Data Science in the Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University. He is also affiliated with the Data Science Research Center (DSRC) and the Zu Chongzhi Center for Mathematics and Computational Sciences (CMCS). He received the B.S. degree in Mathematics (First Honour) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2012 and the Ph.D. degree in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, he served as a post-doctorate researcher at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, and the School of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. His research is in the intersection of applied harmonic analysis, machine learning and signal processing. His current interest includes geometric deep learning and anomaly detection, and applications in e.g., communication, diagnosis and medical imaging. He has published papers in top machine learning and interdisciplinary conferences such as ICLR, KDD and AISTATS, and journals such as Applied and Computational Harmonic Analysis and IEEE TIT, TNNLS, TCAD, etc. He is passionate about mentoring undergraduate research. Many students he mentored for research have been directly admitted to PhD programs (UC Berkeley, UIUC, UPenn, etc.) or admitted to top master’s programs (MIT, Harvard, Brown, etc.).

Pricing

For Chinese Students:

For International Students:

* Program fee included: Tuition, visit fee, accommodation, partial catering costs, study materials, insurance, etc.
* Exclude: Travel to and from Kunshan, personal expenses and expenses not mentioned, etc.

Application Deadlines

For Chinese Students:

For International Students:

Application Requirements

– Current high school students (grades 10-12) with excellent overall qualities and good listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English.
– Open to all arts and science students and admission is based on merit according to batch.

Application Materials

Applicants must complete the information requested within the link in its entirety which includes:

1. High School Transcript (Required)

The high school transcript must affix an official seal or the academic affairs department seal. Chinese students are recommended to use the transcript template provided by the program team. Transcripts should include end-of-semester grades for each semester since high school (full marks for individual subjects must be indicated). Please also provide overall rankings or rankings by arts/science and indicate the total number of students If there is a grade ranking. You can find the transcript template here:

2. Self-introduction in English (Required)

Please introduce yourself in English with no more than 300 words (e.g. personal background, reasons for choosing the program, academic interests, leadership experience, extracurricular activities…). 

3. Other supplementary Materials (Optional)

  • Certificates of academic competitions, e.g., Five Subject Olympiads, national/provincial/municipal academic competitions, etc.
  • Certificate of Language Proficiency (CLP), e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, etc.
  • Proof of creative and innovative ability, e.g., National/provincial/municipal innovation competitions, invention patents, etc.

Notes: While these materials are not required, it is recommended that you merge them into a PDF file before uploading.

Are You Ready To Start?

Contact

Doris Deng

Program Assistant for Global Summer Institute
Office of International Relations
ziqin.deng@dukekunshan.edu.cn
T: (+86) 0512-3665-7656