SUMMER SCIENCE RESEARCH
EXCHANGE PROGRAM - 2006

COLLEGE ST. BENEDICT/ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY 

and SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY

Collegeville/St. Joseph, MN      Beibei, Chongqing, China

The China Summer Research Exchange Scholars

Front Row (L to R):  Keely Sacry (Chemistry), Nicole Kessler (Physics)
Back Row: Brad Schwantke(Chemistry), Nicholas Menth (Biochemistry), Kendrick Williams (Biiochemistry), Sara Eisenschenk(Biology), Caitlin Walsh (Biology), Nicholas Moe (Physics)

Program Description

To continue and strengthen our relationship between the College of St. Benedict (CSB)/St. John's University (SJU), USA, and Southwest University (SWU), China, and to provide busy science majors an opportunity to study and travel abroad, we have developed a summer research exchange program between CSB/SJU and SWU. 

Director of Exchange Program:  Henry Jakubowski, Dept. Chemistry

Duration: 12 weeks total.  CSB/SJU students leave for China on May 18, 2006 and will spend six weeks at SWU doing research.  CSB/SJU and SWU students will return to CSB/SJU on July 1,  and continue research until August 11, 2006.

Program: CSB/SJU Science students from the Biology, Chemistry, and/or Physics Departments, selected by application and based on merit and interest, will travel to SWU, China on the weekend before the research program begins. Each student will work in the lab with a partner SWU student, selected in advance by application and merit, and reasonably fluent in English, and under the direction of a faculty lab director who has agreed to participate.  After six weeks, the SWU students, with their CSB/SJU partners, will travel to CSB/SJU and work on a research project with their SWU partner, under the direction of a faculty lab director, who has agreed to participate.     

Housing: Chinese students will be housed in the same facilities on campus as CSB/SJU students. CSB/SJU students who travel to SWU will be housed in the International Student Dormitory.  Housing expenses for both CSB/SJU students at SWU and SWU students at CSB/SJU will be completely covered by financial support (see Support below).

Food:  CSB/SJU students will pay for their own food at CSB/SJU and at SWU.  Likewise, SWU students will pay for their own food at CSB/SJU. However, both CSB/SJU students at SWU and SWU students at CSB/SJU will be receive a stipend to cover food costs which will be completely covered (see Support below).

Support: Participating CSB/SJU students will receive part of the usual summer financial support provided by CSB/SJU since they will work at CSB/SJU for only 6 of the normal 10 week summer program.  The support will consist of a summer stipend and funds to cover room and board.  The stipend for 6 weeks of work at CSB/SJU will be approximately $2000.  In addition, CSB/SJU students will receive about $970 dollars for airfare.  SWU students will receive $800 that will cover all their housing and food costs at CSB/SJU.   SWU will cover the cost of housing CSB/SJU students in the International Student Dormitory and provide 1000 RMB (about $120) to cover food costs for CSB/SJU students at SWU.

Travel: All CSB/SJU and SWU students will pay for their own transportation costs to and from CSB/SJU and SWU and within each country.  However, CSB/SJU students will receive some support for these costs (See Support Above).  CSB/SJU students will fly to and from China as a group on the same flight. 

Students: All SWU students must have a CSB/SJU partner who will be their primary �peer mentor�. Hence an equal number of students from both SWU and CSB/SJU will participate.  We will select 2 students each from Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry and Physics. 

Selection Process:  Students should submit application forms by January 25 to Henry Jakubowski, Chemistry Department.  Selection of students into the program will occur no later than February 6, to ensure that student will have sufficient time to obtain passports and visas.

Orientation: There will be a series of orientation sessions in Spring 06 for students who are selected into the program.  They will consist of important information about how to travel to, life, work, and thrive in China.  Dates will be announced.

Application Forms:  All forms should be printed, filled out by the appropriate person, and mailed by campus mail to Henry Jakubowski, Dept. Chemistry, 245 ASC, CSB. (Telephone: 5354)

1.  Department Forms: Summer Undergraduate Research Applications.  For students interested in biochemistry, choose the form for the department in which their probable research mentor is housed.

 2.  International Education Forms: - Summer Student Research Exchange Program Applications

Summary of Important Dates:

For more details contact Henry Jakubowski

02/22/2006