Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

Johns Hopkins SAIS continues to innovate and improve its learning experience for students and this year, considering the ongoing challenges with Covid-19, that came in the form of Experiential Learning trips for student cohorts around the world. This afforded students in Taiwan the opportunity to go to Kinmen Islands, which are a small group of islands administered by Taiwan and located just 10 kilometers from China’s shore. It is a place known for its liquor, gaoliangjiu , peanut brittle snacks, and as a physical representation of the longstanding cross-straits tensions . Jacob Davis reflects on the experience.      Our trip began with a bit of a bumpy start, as no adventure is complete without its unforeseen hurdles. Our plane ended up having to come back to Taipei after being unable to land, so our first day was unfortunately cut a little short. However, once we finally arrived, we were shown to our traditional-style accommodations complete with a courtyard between ...

Earlier in the semester, the Johns Hopkins SAIS campus in Bologna, Italy and the Hopkins-Nanjing Center held a joint panel discussion on the Russo- Ukrainian  conflict and its broader implications. Nathan Rose reflects on the content of the talk, and the connections that it has helped establish between SAIS Bologna and the HNC.  On 5/16, I attended a student led discussion on the global impact of the Ukrainian conflict. The talk was a collaboration between the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and SAIS Europe. The talk consisted of two parts: first was a faculty panel, followed by a student panel. Consistent with the bi-campus theme, both the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and SAIS Europe were well represented: Professor Arase and Professor Cai Jiahe represented the HNC, while Professors Hans Maul and Sergey Radchenko represented SAIS Europe.  Professors Cai Jiahe and David Arase represented the HNC at the staff panel Before attending this event, I saw it as a continuation of earlier conver...

First year MAIS student and HNC student worker Kalina Pateva reflects on her year at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center .     As the semester comes to a close, I find myself constantly wondering where the time went – the semesters seem to fly by, especially around finals. My first year at the HNC was a turbulent one, and it was honestly nothing like I imagined it would be. For one, due to the ongoing COVID-19 regulations in China, international HNC students were unable to physically attend the HNC campus – this not only meant that all of our classes were online, but also that the international and Chinese cohorts weren’t able to meet. As a result, my academic, extracurricular and social experience was much different than that of other cohorts.   Academics   Overall, I feel like I learned a lot in my first year at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, though semesters 1 and 2 were drastically different from each other. During the first semester, I was spending the entirety of my da...

Jacob Gunter (MAIS '17) has recently started work as a Senior Analyst at the renowned Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, Germany. Prior to his role at MERICS, an internship taken during his time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center inspired Jacob to pursue a full-time opportunity at the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing.  Tell us more about your career and current role. How much have you built upon your HNC experience, and how much did you have to learn on the job?    My career started in the summer between my first and second year at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, when I did an internship at the European Chamber of Commerce in Nanjing. Ultimately, I wrote the local position paper, which was an analysis of the local business environment for European companies and recommendations for things to improve. That was really well received. Afterwards, I heard from the Beijing office, and shortly before graduation, I got a job offer from them which I accep...

On April 1 st , HNC Careers Services Manager Michael Hoffman and first-year MAIS student Hailey McGleam hosted a student-alumni reunion for HNC students and SAIS alumni currently based in Taiwan. Nearly 30 students and alumni attended the gathering on Friday night.    While school has been going on virtually, the HNC Careers Service team has been working hard to form connections with the many SAIS Alumni dispersed around the globe – virtually and on the ground. Luckily for the group of students who relocated to Taiwan, HNC Careers Services Manager Michael Hoffman has been based in Taiwan for a large part of the pandemic and has formed valuable ties with the local Johns Hopkins SAIS community. In addition, current student and Boren fellow Hailey McGleam, who has been in Taipei since November, has reached out to nearly all Taiwan-based HNC and SAIS alumni across sectors. Several months of hard work and planning paid off on April 1 st , when alumni and students came together for ...