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Friendship game builds Duke's ties with China
By Fallon Ukpe |
August 19, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AS the plane touches down just after 11pm local time at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the passengers applaud.
After a 22-hour departure delay and 17 hours of flight time from Durham, North Carolina, the group is thrilled to arrive and excited to watch the Duke Men's Basketball Team (the Blue Devils) play in Kunshan, Shanghai, Beijing and Dubai. The 2011 Friendship Games Tour is a one-of-a-kind experience and as a student, I am proud to be a part of it.
Greeted by the humid air of Shanghai, the team disembarks wearing Duke basketball uniforms. Those traveling with the - family, Duke faculty, administrators and staff - also exit, most wearing their Duke apparel, T-shirts, hats and clothes in deep "Duke blue."
The 11-day itinerary is awe-inspiring. Free time is book with tours of magnificent structures, such as the Great Wall of China; there's also time to explore the birthplace of famous Kun Opera in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province.
The trip is planned to showcase the current and historical aspects of each city in which the team will play. The exposure fosters an understanding of the various influences on China's development, culture and economics.
What becomes undeniably obvious is this: the Friendship Games Tour is not just about basketball. The trip signals the importance Duke University places on international relationships and on having a meaningful global presence, especially in China.
Duke University, the city of Kunshan and Wuhan University have submitted an application to the Chinese Ministry of Education to create a joint venture university: Duke Kunshan University (DKU). Construction is scheduled to be completedin fall next year. The Duke Men's Basketball Team and everyone who joined the team for the tour visited the campus before the first game.
The premise is simple yet powerful. As Duke University embraces the necessity of preparing global leaders, it is important that its students learn about and get to know China from China, not solely from a classroom at the University's campus in Durham, North Carolina. This is about moving beyond the traditional four walls of a lecture hall into the world's teaching lab.
This is about transitioning from an international educational institution to one that is truly global. This is important for me as a dual MBA/MD student. I know that once I enter the workforce, I will be a part of a shifting world in which I can't be successful without global understanding. As the crowd cheers during each basketball game, people with different backgrounds and cultures will unite for the love of basketball - just as the Duke students do back in Durham at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Friendship Games Tour underscores the importance of Duke University's work to transcend time zones and country borders to prepare globally oriented leaders of consequence, and the innovation the university is using to achieve that end.
Fallon Ukpe is studying for her MBA at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
After a 22-hour departure delay and 17 hours of flight time from Durham, North Carolina, the group is thrilled to arrive and excited to watch the Duke Men's Basketball Team (the Blue Devils) play in Kunshan, Shanghai, Beijing and Dubai. The 2011 Friendship Games Tour is a one-of-a-kind experience and as a student, I am proud to be a part of it.
Greeted by the humid air of Shanghai, the team disembarks wearing Duke basketball uniforms. Those traveling with the - family, Duke faculty, administrators and staff - also exit, most wearing their Duke apparel, T-shirts, hats and clothes in deep "Duke blue."
The 11-day itinerary is awe-inspiring. Free time is book with tours of magnificent structures, such as the Great Wall of China; there's also time to explore the birthplace of famous Kun Opera in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province.
The trip is planned to showcase the current and historical aspects of each city in which the team will play. The exposure fosters an understanding of the various influences on China's development, culture and economics.
What becomes undeniably obvious is this: the Friendship Games Tour is not just about basketball. The trip signals the importance Duke University places on international relationships and on having a meaningful global presence, especially in China.
Duke University, the city of Kunshan and Wuhan University have submitted an application to the Chinese Ministry of Education to create a joint venture university: Duke Kunshan University (DKU). Construction is scheduled to be completedin fall next year. The Duke Men's Basketball Team and everyone who joined the team for the tour visited the campus before the first game.
The premise is simple yet powerful. As Duke University embraces the necessity of preparing global leaders, it is important that its students learn about and get to know China from China, not solely from a classroom at the University's campus in Durham, North Carolina. This is about moving beyond the traditional four walls of a lecture hall into the world's teaching lab.
This is about transitioning from an international educational institution to one that is truly global. This is important for me as a dual MBA/MD student. I know that once I enter the workforce, I will be a part of a shifting world in which I can't be successful without global understanding. As the crowd cheers during each basketball game, people with different backgrounds and cultures will unite for the love of basketball - just as the Duke students do back in Durham at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Friendship Games Tour underscores the importance of Duke University's work to transcend time zones and country borders to prepare globally oriented leaders of consequence, and the innovation the university is using to achieve that end.
Fallon Ukpe is studying for her MBA at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
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