On March 21st, ShanghaiTech welcomed an international delegation of promising young Scholars as the first stop of the 2019 Rhodes China Trip. 17 Rhodes Scholars hailing from 8 countries with specialties ranging from law, politics and medicine to public policy, toured the campus and participated in activities to promote extensive cultural, academic and personnel exchange.
ShanghaiTech President Jiang Mianheng extended a warm welcome to the Rhodes Trust delegation, which was led by Rhodes Trust CEO and Warden of the Rhodes House Dr. Elizabeth Kiss, who was accompanied by the Director of Strategy & Development Alasdair Maclay and Rhodes Trust China Chairperson, Tang Meijie. ShanghaiTech Provost and Vice President Yin Jie, Vice President Lu Xionggang, Vice Provost Jiang Ge and deans of all the schools and institutes were also in attendance.
During the meeting, President Jiang introduced ShanghaiTech's vision and development and Dr.Elizabeth Kiss reciprocated with an introduction to the Rhodes Trust. She expressed her thanks to ShanghaiTech for hosting the 2019 Rhodes China Trip and said she hoped the two sides would carry out more cooperation in the future. Two talented Rhodes Scholars shared their success stories and showed gratitude to ShanghaiTech for this cross-cultural experience.
After the Rhodes delegation toured around campus, Dr. Elizabeth Kiss delivered a speech titled "Rhodes Scholarships: Developing Innovators for the 21st Century" and answered questions from students and faculty in the audience.
Established in 1903, The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world.Each year young students around the globe are selected as Rhodes Scholars to pursue postgraduate study at the University of Oxford through fierce competition. Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead. In March 2015, the Rhodes Trust announced the launch of the Rhodes Scholarships for China and the students joined the class of 2016 for postgraduate study at the University of Oxford.
Dr. Elizabeth Kiss is the first female CEO of the Rhodes Trust and Warden of Rhodes House in Oxford, England, leading an organization dedicated to identifying and developing exceptional people from all over the World. Prior to joining the Rhodes Trust in August 2018, she served as president of Agnes Scott College, Georgia. During her tenure, Agnes Scott completed the largest fundraising campaign in the college's history and launched a signature program, SUMMIT, focused on global learning and leadership development for all students. The college broke records for enrollment and retention and was named the second 'Most Diversified College in America' by Time magazine and the country's most successful liberal arts college for graduating low-income students by the U.S. Department of Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education named Dr. Kiss on its 2017 list of the most influential people in U.S. higher education.
