Liberal Arts and Science Education at Duke Kunshan: Innovation, Integration and Inclusion

We are in an era of change, a change that higher education plays an essential role [1]. From the accelerated pace of digitalization to the surge of artificial intelligence, it is increasing important for us to think about the role of education in reshaping the future society from a 'macroscopic' perspective as well as in supporting future generations for their purposeful lives from a 'microscopic' perspective. As one of the global universities [2] with students coming from over 70 different countries, Duke Kunshan University (DKU) is thrilled to serve as a platform for innovation in education from the perspectives of interdisciplinarity and internationality. Following a brief overview of the undergraduate curriculum, I will discuss how the design of science education balances breadth from interdisciplinary exploration and depth from undergraduate research. Subsequently, representative cases arising from the "Integrated Science" courses will be shared briefly for further discussions on topics such as (i) How to effectively engage students with diverse background? (ii) How to actively engage students using Design-It-Yourself labs? (iii) How to build undergraduate students' research capacity through integration? Finally, a summary of lessons learned will be presented in connection to the animating principles of DKU.

1. Davidson, C. N. The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux. (Basic Books, New York, 2017).

2. Penprase, B. & Pickus, N. The New Global Universities: Reinventing Education in the 21st Century. (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2023).