Members of the newly-established Canadian Chinese Alumni Association gather at the official residence of the consul general of China in Toronto on Aug 20. (NA LI / CHINA DAILY)

The payoffs of cross-cultural education can be long-lasting and rich. And now Canadian students who have experienced China have a platform to share their experiences.

"In my Chinese family, my friends taught me how to play the weiqi and erhu and I felt close to Chinese culture,” said James Higginson, a graduate student in business at Nipissing University recalling the time he spent studying at Fudan University two years ago, a learning experience he called "fantastic”.

Higginson is one of hundreds Canadian alumni of Chinese universities who have participated in summer programs in research, language, history, culture and food through the Ontario-Jiangsu Student Exchange Program (OJS) since 2009.

"The program really helps us go beyond what we learn in the classroom by learning about everyday China, the real China,” said Higginson, who has been to three Chinese universities through OJS. "We enjoyed it so much.”

Serbian Darko Ljubic, a PhD candidate in chemical engineering at McMaster University and winner of a Chinese government scholarship, expressed his gratitude to his academic father and life coach Dr Zhu Shiping.

Ljubic said Zhu believes that student exchange is one of the best ways to increase mutual understanding between different peoples, different cultures and different nations.

"Without Dr Zhu, I would never have had the opportunity to experience a great country like China,” said Ljubic. "I have learned that China is a very diverse country and that paying a visit there is a valuable experience. I am now going to visit and experience an elite scientific institution — Zhejiang University. "

Ljubic, along with 10 other Chinese government scholarship winners, joined OJS students, winners of the Chinese Bridge language competition and self-funded students who have studied in China at a gathering of China alumni on Aug 20 at the official mansion of the consul general of China in Toronto.

"As you can see, there are so many alumni from China,” said Xu Yawei, China’s education consul in Toronto. "This is a great opportunity to set up an association to track and engage them all.”

The gathering marked the launch of the Canadian Chinese Alumni Association (CCAA). David Wood, academic director of OJS, Christine Keene of OCAD University, William Cantangui of York University and Shannon Power of Ryerson University have all volunteered to help in the formation of CCAA.

"Through the CCAA, we want to provide a platform for people to share their experiences and information,” said Wood. "We are looking to build and strengthen the relationship between Canada and China in the field of education.”

Power said, "I will stay involved with people who might be in China or hope to go there, to help them learn about future opportunities. I myself am interested in going back to China to work on my master’s.”

According to Xue Bing, the Chinese consul general in Toronto, by 2020, China will be hosting the most foreign students of any country in Asia.

At the gathering, Xue shared three anecdotes about Canadians and education in China.

In 1962, prior to the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between Canada and China, Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai hosted professor Claude Bissell, former president of University of Toronto, who later praised the potential of China’s education system in Western media.

Xue also talked about Canadian Mark Rowswell, whose Chinese name is Da Shan. Called "the most famous foreigner in China”, Roswell has been a China media personality and cultural ambassador for more than 25 years.

Last but not least, Xue mentioned professor Pietro Giordan of York University, a graduate of Peking University, where he found not only academic success, but his beautiful wife.

"I hope you all have fruitful experiences and fulfill your dreams as well,” Xue said.

renali@chinadailyusa.com