HNC Washington Office Holiday Hours

Happy holidays from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center Washington Office!

The Hopkins-Nanjing Center Washington Office will be closed from Saturday, December 23 through Monday, January 1. Admissions representatives will respond to any emails sent to nanjing@jhu.edu after the holiday break.

As reminder, HNC admissions representatives will be holding virtual information sessions in January. Join one of our upcoming virtual sessions to get tips and advice on the HNC application process. Admissions representatives will be going over each section of the application. To receive email updates about the upcoming virtual sessions, RSVP by clicking the links below. To join the sessions, click here at the scheduled time.

    Tuesday, January 9, 7:00-8:00pm ET
    Friday, January 26, 12:00-1:00pm ET


Can’t wait until the virtual session? Check out a blog post on 5 things to remember when applying to the HNC or email nanjing@jhu.edu to speak with an admissions representative.

Wordless Wednesday

This Wednesday, student blogger, Alexandra Hansen, features life at the HNC through pictures. We hope that through this series you will be able to better understand the HNC’s campus, community, and culture. 

Photos by Alexandra Hansen, Certificate '18

Public Affairs in China: A Practical Approach, Mini-Course taught by Beth Keck

On December 1-3, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC) offered an exciting mini-course, Public Affairs in China: A Practical Approach, taught by Johns Hopkins SAIS’s own Practitioner-in-Residence for China Studies, Beth Keck, SAIS ‘85. The course, taught over three days, covered topics ranging from the history of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to identifying stakeholders and partners in business, the practice of Government Relations (GR), and crisis management. Professor Keck took an active approach by having students work through complex case studies based on actual events.

SAIS Practitioner-in-Residence Beth Keck at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center

In her role as SAIS Practitioner-in-Residence, Beth Keck brings vast experience in international business, global public affairs, and corporate social responsibility. She implemented Walmart’s Women’s Economic Empowerment initiative to train one million women and the company’s environmental sustainability initiative. She is also the vice chair of Agribusiness Systems International Board of Directors and a board member of ACDI/VOCA, nonprofit organizations providing development expertise in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Professor Keck enjoys teaching at Johns Hopkins SAIS and sees it as a good way to transition from her tenure in Walmart as well as to utilize the knowledge and the contacts that she has made throughout her career. This is Keck’s second visit to the HNC and she admires the HNC students’ ability to do graduate work in their target language of Chinese or English and their level of academic rigor. She believes that a SAIS education is directly relevant to government relations work, where understanding a particular country is critical for communicating with a foreign government and working with different systems of governance.

The course started with an overview of public affairs and government relations. We covered topics such as the role of a company in society as well as some basic communications theory and principles. Professor Keck was always ready to engage with students and have us think through the answers ourselves. As a class we had a chance to see how government can play a huge role in the way companies do business, illustrated through case studies involving Walmart and other companies. The case demonstrated how government priorities and the values of a given business may be at odds and that businesses need to understand how to navigate such a complex policy environment. On day one, I already felt I was learning something important for my future work.

Students engaged in a group activity

On the second day, we learned about the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and how it fits in the business ecosystem. There are many different types of corporate outreach ranging from philanthropy to creating shared value. As a class we worked through case studies to analyze potential outreach strategies for medium to large companies with a variety of constraints and resources. This part of the course really taught us how different companies can make a positive impact on the countries they do business in.

On the final day of the course, we worked on crisis management and examined cross cultural contexts as well as the wide range of actors that one must contend with when it comes to corporate crisis management. We worked through a business case about a pork mislabeling scandal involving Walmart. We were divided into several “expert” teams to specifically identify plans of action for addressing different stake-holders. We were then further divided to come up with pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis recovery strategies. Finishing up the course, my team and I really felt a sense of accomplishment and I was amazed at how much I had learned in such a short time.

Written by Benjamin Miles, MAIS '19

HNC Alumni Profile: Sean Leow

Sean Leow is the Director of International for Kickstarter. He was a founding member of Neocha, a creative agency and bilingual magazine which celebrates and empowers creatives in China and is still an active board member. He graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in 2003, received his HNC Certificate in 2005 and graduated with an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management in 2012. He worked at Facebook prior to his position at Kickstarter.

What was your background before coming to study at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center?
I went to Duke University and I was interested in China because my father is Chinese, so I grew up, spent a couple years in Singapore, but really never got to know China because my dad is from Malaysia, of Hakka descent. So I applied to study abroad in Beijing while I was at Duke and had a really great time, and I met David [Davies, current American Co-Director] there where he was leading the [Duke] program. He told me as well as other classmates about the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and how he had a really positive impression of it, and really encouraged us to apply. As I was thinking about options for post-graduation, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center was the top option.

I applied for it and was lucky enough to get in. At that time in your life you don’t really know what you want to do, so going to the HNC made a lot of sense for me to kind of solidify fluency in Chinese, go deeper in terms of understanding the culture better and also really building the network of people that would help me with my future career, whether that was in business or in the public sector, since I didn’t really know before I went there.

Would you like to share any experiences from the HNC?
I still remember a lot of my classes fondly, ten years plus on, my memories are of working hard to get through a textbook or these assignments when my Chinese was still in a state of learning. All of that made me a lot stronger for everything else that I took on post-HNC.

I took one or two classes from the American professors while I was there, because when you’re taking the classes in Chinese, a lot of your focus is just trying to get through the material. It’s nice to take classes in your native language and be able to flex other muscles that you aren’t otherwise able to. I developed good relationships with those professors that I still keep in touch with.

How did your time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center set you up for the next steps?
While I was there I had a fantastic Economics lecturer, so I was considering going back and doing a PhD in Economics. At the same time I was connecting with some of the companies that came on campus to recruit, and that’s actually where I ended up going. A small market entry consulting company named Alaris, founded by an HNC alum [Francis Bassolino, HNC Certificate '93], came to the center to recruit and I ended up taking a job with them. So it was through the program that I got my first job there.

So I finished up at the HNC, moved to Shanghai and I worked for two years at Alaris. I was able to cut my teeth in terms of doing business in China - I would be sent to these factories in the middle of China negotiating deals between US companies and their Chinese counterparts, a really intense but really great experience. Through that I was developing an entrepreneurial streak and I started this company called Neocha which has been around for ten years now.

I’d been going deep in the China direction and then for personal and professional reasons, I was interested in not being too pigeonholed into being a China expert. So I came back to the US, I used my MBA at MIT as a transition period to explore some new things, and go in the direction of technology which I was interested in. That’s how I made that pivot back to the US in some sense. But I’ve always kept that connection with China, through this company that I started named Neocha.

Tell us more about the birth of Neocha.
Neocha started as a social networking site just for Chinese artists and musicians. We built a whole social networking site in Chinese, it was me and a couple of friends in Shanghai. We’d basically been noticing a lot of interesting musicians, illustrators, street artists throughout China but none of them knew about each other. Mainstream media also wasn’t talking about that kind of stuff. So this was 2007, it was a while ago, we thought the internet is a good way to connect these people, so we built this website. A lot of people started using it, we got it up to 40,000 users all across China, they were able to share what they were up to, and so it was very focused on China at the time.

We evolved the company for a couple reasons: first, we needed to make money and we also realized that we had aggregated all the best independent creative talent in China in one place and the best way to help them was to be able to provide freelance opportunities for them to work with different brands like Nike and Coke, who wanted really interesting, edgy, creative content for their marketing campaigns in China. So that’s how we pivoted from a social networking site into a creative agency, which is the core of the business now.

We’re fighting a similar battle that we have for a long time, which is the perception of Asia and China in terms of creativity. People dismiss it. I think we still need to tell that story of creativity continually.

How has your Chinese proficiency and your background in China influenced your career in the tech industry?
I think just from a high level it gave me a new perspective to look at any challenge. After I finished my MBA I went and worked at Facebook for about four years and then have been at Kickstarter for two years, and for both companies, dealing with other countries and users in countries around the world has always been a part of my job. With China being such a massive influence and potential opportunity I’ve had to think of how China fits in. Even if we haven’t been able to go into China, it’s given me a new perspective in terms of how would a new user base look at a product like this, how do we keep international considerations in mind, how do we think about how language and culture, and not just take a purely American perspective on how we roll things out.

People respect various backgrounds even if it is not totally applicable to what they’re doing, because it’s just proven that having diverse backgrounds in the same room leads to better outcomes, so if you’re working on a problem that is not related to China, and someone brings some experience or perspective from China, that actually could be the answer to a hard challenge. I try to keep that in mind when I’m working on a problem, when I’m trying to hire somebody, and they have a totally different experience, I think keeping an open mind is the best way to proceed.

With China stating its plans to become a world leader in AI and other technology, what do you think it means for people looking to have a career in technology or related to China?
That’s a big question. When I think of the past 15 years or so that I’ve been watching or working in China, there’s constantly, every other month, someone saying that China’s going to be the future, people will say China’s going to totally dissolve and collapse, there’s always people making predictions. What I think is that betting against China is a really bad idea.

In terms of job prospects, I think that the sky’s the limit, especially for people coming out of the HNC, being able to bridge the gap specifically with Chinese companies that are looking to have a bigger mark outside of China. You see that with companies like Tencent, Wechat, they have bigger ambitions to go outside in the same way the other companies do, like Alibaba, really trying to become global powers, not only domestic ones.

Interviewed by Anna Woods, HNC Certificate/SAIS MA '18

Writing Your Hopkins-Nanjing Center Personal Statement

It's hard to overstate the importance of your personal statement as part of your application to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. This is a valuable opportunity to let the Admissions Committee get to know you as more than test scores, transcripts, and a resume. Applicants to all of our programs (Certificate, MAIS, and the HNC Certificate/SAIS MA) are required to submit a personal statement as part of their application:

How do you expect Sino-global relations to impact your future, and how do you believe your time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center will assist you in achieving your long-term career objectives?

Here are few tips to keep in mind as you write your personal statement.

1) Answer the prompt. It may seem obvious, but some students submit personal statements that don’t fully answer the personal statement prompt. Review your essay and make sure that your essay clearly answers all parts of the prompt. It’s okay if you don’t have a five-year career plan! The Admissions Committee is looking to see that you have thought out how you see the HNC as an essential piece of your future plans.

2) Offer clarifications. The personal statement is an opportunity to address any irregularities or other points of clarification on your application - whether it’s lower grades during your freshman year, a gap year you took after high school, if you are planning to improve your Chinese over the summer, if your major is outside of the Asian Studies/China studies field, or anything else that the Admissions Committee should be aware of when reviewing your application. Students can be hesitant to bring attention to these areas, but keep in mind that the Admissions Committee will take note of it. It’s better to address it upfront and provide the Admissions Committee with more information when reviewing your application.

3) Be specific.  Applicants with the best essays give concrete examples of what motivated them to continue studying China and Chinese and why they want to study at the HNC. The HNC is a unique program, so we are interested in learning specifically why you are applying to the HNC and how it will benefit your future career goals. Vague generalizations will not help you stand apart from other applicants. Don’t just tell us why you want to attend graduate school, but instead tailor your essay to highlight why you want to attend the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.

4) Be memorable.  Tell us about your experiences in a creative way, rather than just rewriting your resume in paragraph form.  For example, one past applicant wrote about lessons he learned by playing ping-pong with a Chinese classmate. Another explained her interest in public health through her interactions with Chinese citizens at a rural clinic. Other students highlight how their work or internship experiences exposed them to a certain issue that they want to learn more about at the HNC. Not everything is learned in the classroom!

5) Avoid clichés. For example, one of the most common clichés we encounter every single year involves applicants writing that they hope to attend the HNC so they can become a "bridge" between China and the US. It may be true and it's a noble cause, but this statement doesn’t let the Admissions Committee know specifically why you want to study at the HNC. Get specific and write from your own experiences.

In addition to this personal statement, MAIS applicants are required to write a concentration essay. For this essay, we ask that you choose one of the five concentrations offered in Nanjing: International Economics, International Politics, Comparative and International Law, Chinese Studies, or Energy, Resources, and Environment.  You then will be prompted to write about your thesis idea(s).  Don't worry though! You will not be locked into this topic so it is completely fine if you arrive in Nanjing and decide on a new one. This is more an opportunity for the Admissions Committee to see that you have a particular area of interest related to China and that you have put thought into potential research topics. While you are free to write about more than one topic in this essay, please keep in mind that it is a short essay at only 500 words. Listing off a multitude of different research ideas can show a lack of focus to the Admissions Committee, so it’s often better to limit yourself to one or two topics max.

Last but not least, HNC Certificate/SAIS MA applicants should submit three essays total: the HNC Personal Statement, the DC Statement of Purpose, and the DC Analytical Essay.  We often receive questions about the amount of overlap between the HNC Personal Statement and the DC Statement of Purpose. You should assume that the admissions committees of each campus have access to all three essays but still include any relevant information in each, even if it does mean a bit of overlap. While the analytical essay should be related to international relations or economics, it doesn’t need to be related to China if that’s not your intended concentration area at SAIS.

We look forward to reading your essays!