Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

Let the fall 2024 semester begin! Hopkins-Nanjing Center students recently arrived on campus for orientation, and are already exploring all of the sights (and food) that Nanjing has to offer. There's nothing like the annual hike up Purple Mountain to start the semester off right! Students pose for photos in front of the new welcome banner. The hike up Purple Mountain begins! Posing for a group shot after making it to the top.  Discovering the culinary delights of Nanjing.  The opening ceremony officially kicks off the start of the academic year. 

Some HNC programs require prior Chinese language proficiency, while others do not. Applicants to the Master of Arts in International Studies, Certificate, Certificate + MAIR or Certificate + MAIA programs must demonstrate intermediate to advanced Chinese language proficiency at the time of application. Prior language proficiency is not required for the Master of Arts in International Relations or Master of Arts in International Affairs programs.  To apply for any HNC program where Chinese is the language of instruction, you must provide Chinese reading and listening proficiency test results from one of the following language assessments: STAMP, HSK, ACTFL, CEFR, or ILR. Test results must be from within the last 12 months, and available for review before the application deadline. If you have not yet taken any of these tests, you can request to take the STAMP test via the  online application .    Should I even bother taking a language assessment? How could I possibly b...

Students at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center choose their coursework from several concentration areas, including Energy, Resources and Environment (ERE). ERE focused students take classes from Professor Roger Raufer, Resident Professor at the HNC who joined the faculty in 2014. He has more than four decades of  engineering  consulting experience and has been an advisor for the UN, USAID, and World Bank. This week's blog explores Professor Raufer's busy spring semester. Prof. Raufer at Nanjing University's School of Business HNC’s Professor Roger Raufer had an especially busy Spring semester!  He spent the first part of the semester in Europe, giving his annual lectures on environmental policy at the IFP School near Paris.  He then went to Italy to present a Professional Skills Course (PSC) about emissions trading at the SAIS Europe campus in Bologna.  This course had a special focus on China’s nascent emissions trading program.  The course was funded by the Yeung...

HNC alumni thrive in various sectors related to US-China relations, including government, business, journalism, and think tanks, often carving out unique specialties within their organizations. Brian Hart has done just that at CSIS. In our latest alumni profile, Brian shares captivating insights from his time at the HNC and his focused career journey. Brian Hart is a fellow with the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where his research concentrates on Chinese foreign policy, military modernization, and Taiwan security issues. Before his current role, Brian conducted research for the Project 2049 Institute, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, and Trivium China. He holds an HNC certificate and a master’s in international relations from SAIS, as well as a bachelor's degree in politics and international affairs from Wake Forest University. How did you find yourself at the HNC? I knew I wanted to go into a field focusing on China, w...

The Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC) is a unique academic community where students with diverse interests converge, united by a shared focus on US-China relations. Below, students Alec Nash, Yan Manshu, and Wyatt Crooks share their paths at the HNC, individual passions, and multifaceted experiences in international relations. Also, be sure to check out last semester's student profiles . Alec Nash 亚历山大 MAIS '24 Concentration: International Economics Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia Undergraduate Institution: Emory University  Yan Manshu 严曼舒 HNC Certificate '24 Hometown: Nanjing, China Wyatt Crooks 康沃业 HNC Certificate + MAIR '25 Concentration: Governance, Politics, and Society Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina Undergraduate Institution: North Carolina State University Tell us about your background, how you became interested in China, and what led you to the HNC. Alec Nash Alec: During my undergraduate years at Emory University I studied international relations. At the tim...

Ever wonder if you can tour an electric vehicle factory in China? Three HNC students did their research and recently took a road trip to visit a NIO factory in neighboring Anhui province. China's EV market is massive and competitive, which makes China a fascinating place to experience this aspect of the green energy transition. Chris (right) and two classmates at the NIO Factory Experience Center On an overcast April morning, I arrived in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui province, with two classmates. Our destination was a NIO car factory which produces top-of-the-line electric vehicles. NIO has become famous in China and abroad for its unique battery-swapping, rather than charging, technology. NIO owners can pull into any of the nearly 2,500 battery swapping stations to receive a new battery pack and be on their way. This automated process lifts the car, removes the depleted battery, stores it in an underground vault, and replaces it with a fully charged battery. The whole process...

The Hopkins-Nanjing Center hosts an array of interest groups and extracurricular activities. This semester, students are connecting in classes on calligraphy, ping pong, and erhu. Students are also enjoying interest groups like badminton, afternoon tea, chess, and Quiz Bowl. Below are a few highlighted groups. To read about other interest groups at the HNC, check out the Connecting Through Hobbies blog from last semester. Many HNC students at a recent happy hour Ping Pong Class Ping pong tables are always set up in the HNC's west auditorium and are only taken down for events every now and then. Whether class has just let out or if students need a 20-minute study break, the large room usually emits the sweet sound of ping pong. Besides spontaneous ping pong matches, HNC students are able to take a ping pong class that is taught by a semi-professional player. The teacher and students meet every Sunday for practice, technique, and intense fun. Not only have students been able to let ...