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On June 3-4, the ACT Global team in China successfully hosted the 2023 ACT GAC Summit after years of anticipation due to pandemic-related restrictions. This event allows hundreds of our stakeholders from all over China to re-establish relationships with our staff and with each other as the last major event was held in 2019. The theme this year was “Embracing the Future through Holistic Education,” which brought up several talking points on how to promote and implement international and holistic education in a bilingual school setting.
The summit was kicked off by ACT CEO Janet Godwin welcoming the GAC Summit participants via a video message. Educators and industry experts gathered to listen to presentations and panel discussions about future development trends, which included academic trends, curriculum integration, holistic education, artificial intelligence, comprehensive literacy, and more.
One example of this is from a presentation from the principal of Yungu High School, Wang Chenyi. He started by talking about what jobs will likely disappear in 20 years and how education should adapt to a new world with AI. Later, he introduced the development process that Yungu has designed for their students to help provide a more holistic evaluation, rather than just a traditional report card.
A panel discussion of school leaders from all over China brought up several hot topics such as how to implement holistic education at their own school and how to help staff and students with mental health. The panelists were openly willing to share their experiences at their own schools, which was greatly appreciated by the audience.
The second day started off with a presentation from Den Hoopingarner, a Public Engagement Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. He updated the audience about the latest trends in higher education in the USA. In addition, he reported about the latest visa policies and reiterated that as always, the USA welcomes Chinese students to study in the USA.
To end the event on a high note, we hosted an award ceremony. This was an opportunity to not only show our gratitude to our ACT GAC schools and partners for their support over the years, but also recognize their effort and achievements. In total, there were eight different awards ranging from Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award to Collaboration Award. Congratulations to all the award winners!
Many thanks to our ACT leadership team for their tireless support and trust put upon our team in Asia. Congratulations to the China team for hosting a fruitful event for our stakeholders.
This month, we celebrate a 10-year partnership with RAI, a valued partner and licensee of the ACT GAC program in Myanmar since July 2013. Over the past years despite the difficulties faced from the pandemic, the business grew from one to two teaching locations. To date, both Yangon and Mandalay campuses have produced nearly 650 graduates.
In Memory of James Aung Kyaw San
It would not have been possible without the vision and perseverance of the late founder, James Aung Kyaw San, who passed away on March 22. James is remembered for being a strong advocate and supporter of ACT, even participating in the November 2018 GAC Summit held at ACT headquarters in Iowa City.
James’ firm belief in its merits is demonstrated through his older son, who graduated from the GAC in 2020, took the ACT test, and is now completing his final year of undergraduate studies with SUNY Oswego, a GAC Pathway University. He is also credited with developing collaborations with many Pathway Universities globally to facilitate varied destination choices for our GAC students, a number of whom have benefitted from his untiring coaching and guidance.
Thank you, James, for your legacy of character and faith. As we commemorate the 10th anniversary, we are very positive our partnership will continue to grow from strength to strength!
Feng Zixun
- GAC Class of 2023
- International Department, Dongguan Hanlin Experimental School
- University destination: University of California, Irvine
"I studied in the International Department of Dongguan Hanlin Experimental School, learning Chinese and American courses. The excitement and anxiety overwhelmed me at the beginning because I knew I could begin my new study, but I wasn't familiar with international courses. The GAC courses cover a wide range of activities, with diverse course tasks and paper format requirements. Besides, the curriculum is very different from that in high school. What's worse, I had never been exposed to academic studies before, such as writing essays and reports with fixed referencing format, presenting research findings with PPT, and searching academic resources. All the above made me very frustrated.
So, I tried to approach my studies from a different perspective. I greatly enjoy participating in memory competitions. In fact, I once secured third place in the Korean Junior Group and second place in the Global Junior Group at the World Memory Championship. In the process of learning GAC, I leveraged my skills in memory training to the fullest, enabling me to link relevant knowledge points within a limited time frame and weave them into a comprehensive knowledge network. This not only aided in understanding but also improved my efficiency. By altering my learning strategy, I found GAC to be more accessible, and my papers often received good feedback and high marks.
Thanks to the GAC program, I have not only gained knowledge, but more importantly, it has taught me to think independently and scrutinize problems critically. This is probably akin to “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Adiana Julia Fatma
"Studying the GAC program was challenging, but it was all the preparation for university life. I had been prepared to face all pressures, such as keeping up with the deadlines, delivering public speaking, and teamwork."
- GAC Class of 2015
- Implementation Engineer, E2open
Arief Dharmawan Abadi
"The GAC program really helped me excel in my university study and career. Not just from the hard skills, but also soft skills. Things like good teamwork, communication, and time management skills that I got really do come in handy and it’s all thanks to GAC!"
- GAC Class of 2017
- Backend Software Engineer, Rakuten Mobile
Muhammad Ardi Putra
"GAC program helped me a lot to develop the skills I need for studying in college. It taught me how to deliver presentations interestingly, write essays coherently, communicate with others effectively, and even manage myself properly. Thank you, GAC!"
- GAC Class of 2017
- Doctoral Candidate, Universitas Gadjah Mada
Byungjoon Oh
"Everything that I needed at the university was covered during the GAC program. Presentation skills, writing skills, and confidence that I obtained during the program are the three things that helped me as a freshman."
- GAC Class of 2021
- Global Affairs, George Mason University Korea
2023 GAC Graduates Study Abroad from Mexico
Pablo Huitrón Lozano
- University: University of North Carolina. Greensboro
- University Program: Finance
Karen Vera Sánchez
- University: University of Michigan Ann Arbor
- University Program: Industrial Engineering
Santiago Yeomans Pérez
- University: Stevens Institute of Technology
- University Program: Computer Science
- Scholarship: The Edwin A. Stevens Scholarship. Awarded to students who have a record of excellence in high school, as evidenced by their transcripts, standardized test scores and recommendations. The Edwin A. Stevens Scholarship is granted for four years (eight full- time semesters) of undergraduate study.
Henrique Lamana
- University: Florida Institute of Technology
- University Program: Aerospace Engineering
- Scholarship: $10,000 USD year
Diana Castillo de la Rosa
- University: National College of Ireland
- University Program: Marketing Practice
Paula García García
- University: West Virginia Wesleyan College
- University Program: Business
Sumie Tamara Kato Alonso
- University: Texas Tech University
- University Program: Computer Engineering
Maria Fernanda Mendoza Ocampo
- University: Columbia College of Chicago
- University Program: Fashion Design
Tania Reyes Zaccarias
- University: Oxford Brookes University
- University Program: Robotics with Artificial Intelligence
| Name | City |
|---|---|
| Ningbo Lihuili High School |
Ningbo |
| HD Ningbo School |
Ningbo |
| Chongqing No.8 Secondary School | Chongqing |
New ATC GAC CollegeSuccess in Mexico
Instituto México de Puebla A.C. Private School
San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, Mexico
University of Kent
Kent is a global university with outstanding teaching, modern facilities, award-winning student support and welcoming study locations. Ranked in the top 50 universities in the UK by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021, Kent offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, exciting year in industry opportunities, and generous scholarship funds including awards for academic, musical and sporting excellence and dedicated scholarships for international students. Over 18,000 students from 152 countries study across its two spacious UK campuses and specialist postgraduate centres in Europe.
- Kent and Partners Award: £2,000
- International scholarships for undergraduate students: £3,000
- Student Ambassador Stipend: £1,000 per annum
- Sports Scholarships: Scholarships are on a tiered system between £300 - £5,000
- Music Performance Scholarship: £1,000 awarded each year
- Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence: £2,000 for stage 1 (first year) of study
- Foundation Programme Progression Scholarship: £3,750
Miami University
Miami University offers over 100 different bachelor’s degree programs. These programs are housed in our five academic divisions: The College of Arts and Science, the Farmer School of Business, the College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Education, Health and Society, and the College of Creative Arts. For more details about all of the programs that we offer, please click here.
All new first year undergraduate international students who submit completed applications and meet the requirements for full admission are automatically considered for our International Education Scholarships and University Merit Scholarships. Miami University scholarships are highly competitive and the academic qualifications determining scholarship awards are dependent on the strength of the applicant pool. For Fall 2022, 88% of admitted international first-year students were offered a scholarship. For details, please click here.