Nineteen of the 120 international students who were in the inaugural class of graduates from New York University Shanghai remained in China to further their studies or find work, according to an NYU Shanghai report released on Feb 9.

Of the 19 international students, eight of them went on to pursue postgraduate degrees at top Chinese universities while the rest took advantage of Shanghai’s work permit policy that allows foreign graduates to attain jobs within the Shanghai Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone or the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

“For many of our international students, they studied not only the Chinese language and culture during the four years of university life but also fostered a Chinese complex that was hard to break away from,” said Yu Lizhong, chancellor of NYU Shanghai.

“Some of these experienced ‘Chinese hands’ chose to stay for further education or join the workplace and were determined to achieve their ideals in this land.”

Following her graduation from NYU Shanghai, the first ever China-US joint university, Lathika Mouli from India joined Energo Labs, a Shanghai-based blockchain startup, as a project specialist.

“Shanghai and the country as a whole are moving so fast these years and I’m excited to be part of it. I’ll spend the next couple of years in Shanghai,” said Mouli, who graduated with an electronic engineering degree.

Meanwhile, Mehmet Erdogan from Turkey and his Chinese dorm mate Yan Yayuan registered a company that focuses on trading products between China and Turkey in the Shanghai FTZ.

Hannah Johnstone from Portland, Oregon earned the 2017-2018 Fulbright US Student Award in September and has since January embarked on a 10-month English teaching program in Malaysia.

“Winning this Fulbright scholarship was an incredible honor for me,” said Johnstone. “During my time at NYU Shanghai, I have seen how valuable and impactful cross-cultural learning is on one’s beliefs, ideas and perspectives.”

Another graduate who has made her way to Southeast Asia is Krista Young from New Jersey. The recipient of the Princeton in Asia scholarship, Young is currently working with a social enterprise in Myanmar to help improve the local community’s awareness in education, public health, environmental protection and social justice.

The report also stated that there were 141 Chinese students in the first batch of NYU Shanghai students. Within this group, 72 students opted to further their studies.

Among those who decided to pursue higher education, 49 were admitted to the world’s top universities, including Harvard University, Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while nine of them enrolled in PhD programs.

In addition, three in four of those who chose to begin their professional careers landed jobs in industries related to business service, education, capital market service and IT service.

Yu said the only regret for the university was that no one from the inaugural class of graduates joined a high profile international organization such as UNESCO, the United Nations and the World Bank.

“I hope that there will be graduates from our university joining such international organizations in the next few years. This is in line with the goal of cultivating talent in China who can make an impact on the world stage.”

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