g-MEO Announces the Opening of its Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Maximum Educational Opportunities, Inc. (g-MEO), an emerging growth company in international education and an innovator of study abroad programs focusing in Greater China, announced the official launch of the Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad in collaboration with four U.S. partner institutions: Concordia University Chicago, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Merrimack College and Norwich University. Located in the historical Huaxi campus of the renowned Sichuan University in downtown Chengdu, Capital of Southwestern China's Sichuan Province, the Center will welcome its inaugural cohort of students from the U.S. this upcoming spring semester.

Each partner institution will offer six or more courses at sophomore and/or junior level, taught by their own faculty members at the Center each semester, including for the upcoming term, subject academic areas such as Political Science, Justice Administration, Business and Management, Mathematics, Global Health, Information Technology, Early Childhood Education and Communication Technology. In addition, the host institution and school of record, Sichuan University, will also offer Mandarin language and Chinese culture courses. Students will be encouraged to take two-thirds of their courses in their major field of discipline while the remaining third will be devoted to Mandarin language instruction and Chinese culture.

"The partnerships among the participating institutions of the Chengdu Center represent a new approach to curricular internationalization," said Dr. Guiyou Huang, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Norwich University. "The innovative nature of the collaboration allows partner institutions to further internationalize their academic initiatives, while encouraging students to study abroad in a U.S. style learning environment in China," he added.

"G-MEO is honored to establish the Chengdu Center in collaboration with this group of formidable educational institutions. We have no doubt that their participation will create a curriculum that sets the highest of academic standards in an international setting," remarked Dr. David Chang, g-MEO's Chairman of the Board.

G-MEO will manage the Center's operations. Additional support for the Center has been provided by the Municipality of Chengdu which will award all students attending the Center a scholarship in the amount of RMB 10,000 (about $1,600). Attendance at the center is open to students from all U.S. universities.

Students interested in combining academics with experiential learning may choose to engage in internship and volunteer opportunities while at the Center. In light of these opportunities, Dr. Lauren Bent, Director of the Office of International Programs at Merrimack College remarked, "The Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad will provide an amalgam of opportunities for our students and faculty to engage in meaningful cross-cultural learning experiences."

The innovative model for the Chengdu Center was in part inspired by the Obama Administration's 100,000 Strong Initiatives seeking to encourage 100,000 students to study in China by 2014. Dr. Jason Scorza, Fairleigh Dickinson University's Vice Provost for International Education remarked, "Although the goal may not be achievable in the time frame proposed by the President, FDU is striving to contribute to this ambitious and laudable objective."

About Global Maximum Educational Opportunities, Inc. (g-MEO)

Founded in 2011 by Dr. David C. Chang, Chancellor, Professor and former President of Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), g-MEO is a corporation formed for the purpose of providing innovative study abroad programs in China for U.S. undergraduates. Through its partnerships with U.S. "home institutions" and Chinese "host institutions," g-MEO's programs offer its students unique opportunities to take undergraduate courses in English with credits fully transferrable to their home institution degree programs, with the study-abroad experience enhanced by local internships and other experiential learning programs.  For further information about scholarships and g-MEO's study abroad programs, please visit www.gmeochina.com.

About Sichuan University

Sichuan University is one of China's leading schools and is the oldest higher education institute in the province of Sichuan, dating back to the Qing Dynasty.

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SOURCE Global Maximum Educational Opportunities, Inc.