How WAB's China Studies Turns Beijing into a STEM Classroom 

While WAB’s China Studies program is perhaps best known for its experiential learning trips across China, what makes the program distinctive is that it is designed and led in-house. This allows the China Studies team to build long-term relationships with universities, hospitals, laboratories and research institutes, creating opportunities that extend far beyond individual trips and connect classroom STEM learning with some of the cutting-edge science and research happening in our host country.

The Newest Partnership: Beijing Ditan Hospital 

Last week, WAB signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, a leading Grade A tertiary hospital and home of the National Center for Infectious Diseases. The partnership has been building since 2020, when Ditan's Chief of Emergency first came to campus during the pandemic to teach students about epidemic prevention. 

Now formalized, it opens pathways for students: hospital volunteer service, infectious disease prevention advocacy, cross-cultural mini-medical courses with medical students, and co-delivered health education covering first aid, brain science, and general wellness. 

China Studies Partnerships in Beijing

Ditan Hospital joins a growing network of partnerships that China Studies has built across Beijing's institutions. To name a few: 

• Beijing Tiantan Hospital collaborates with WAB's High School Neuro Network Club, including an annual on-campus exhibition where student display board is reviewed by hospital specialists.  

• Tsinghua University's In-Vivo Bioelectronics Laboratory hosted WAB's Neuro Network Club students for a working tour, an interactive session exploring brain-computer interface principles and biomaterial applications.
  • "Visiting the labs gives a completely different perspective. Seeing researchers actually developing brain-computer interfaces made things that sounded futuristic feel like genuine possibilities. It made me realize future medicine will depend on neuroscience, engineering, and AI working together." Rachel L, Grade 12 Student

• The National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences sent Professor Lü and his team to run aerospace learning workshops connecting Grade 2 science learning with China’s Chang’e deep-space exploration mission. 
• Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and PaleoDiary Science Education support WAB science learning through expert lectures, authentic specimens, laboratory experiences and visits to the IOZ Zoology Museum. 
• The International Eurasian Academy of Sciences partners with WAB on neuroscience learning through expert lectures, exhibitions, laboratory experiences, and research visits. 

Why This Matters 

In a world shaped by rapid scientific and technological change, deep disciplinary knowledge, research skills and first-hand experience become even more important. Through these partnerships, students can ask questions of experts, encounter current research and see how knowledge is being applied in a country advancing fields such as medicine, space science, engineering and biotechnology. These experiences help students understand the work more deeply and begin to see where their own learning might take them.