On July 3-17, 2018, NU hosted the "Asia Deep Dive" program (ADD), a new two-week cultural immersion program for students of the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) member institutions.
A diverse group of 24 undergraduate students came from the following 13 AUA universities: Chulalongkorn University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, King Saud University, National University of Singapore, NU, Peking University, Seoul National University, Tsinghua University, University of Colombo, University of Malaya, University of Tokyo, and University of Yangon.
During the two weeks, the participants were immersed in the culture of Kazakhstan and Central Asia through lectures, sightseeing tours in Astana, and field trips to other regions of Kazakhstan. They attended a series of special classes on the Kazakh language, culture, and history. The participants also learned about modern Kazakhstan’s development, its economic and healthcare policies, as well as state programs on digitalization and modernization of public consciousness through exciting presentations by distinguished speakers.
The ADD participants traveled to the southern part of Kazakhstan to have a fully immersive experience of local culture and diversity of landscapes; and exposure to the history of the ancient Silk Road. The field trip route included the cities of Shymkent, Turkestan and Almaty.
The ADD program held at NU was a great contribution toward achieving the AUA objective of fostering a multicultural learning environment and promoting cultural exchanges among students.
About AUA: In 2017, fifteen flagship universities of the respective nations from across Asia jointly launched the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA), which is a first of its kind coalition with global commitment, excellence and networks. The mission of the Alliance is to jointly address regional and global challenges, specifically related to higher education and economic, scientific and technological development, by strengthening collaboration among each other.
