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A new partnership between the iSchool and offers University of Washington students the opportunity to be part of an online product development course and competition this summer.

Bob Boiko, iSchool senior lecturer and world traveler, will lead the program along with faculty from the top-ranked in Peking University, and U.S. and Chinese business leaders. The course will teach participants about product design and development for internet and mobile applications.

Peking University is often called ‘the Harvard of China’ due it its selectivity in admitting students. The program will match UW students with Chinese students who study at Peking University and other universities across China into teams to find solutions to common business and technology problems that are of international concern. The teams will present their ideas to professionals and executives from top US and Chinese internet companies.

“We will ask the students to design across borders. This is a huge constraint that we think will cause massive creativity as the students learn about another culture, work with team mates from another culture and have to make systems that work across cultures,” said Boiko. “I am most excited to see what the students come up with. We will have a big product competition and if past years are any indication, our students will design some killer systems.”

The program began with a suggestion from an iSchool Master of Science in Information Management student from Peking University who proposed that the iSchool consider sending faculty to China. As a result, Boiko traveled to China last summer to teach and work with student teams.

“The new program is part of a wider effort we are putting together to strengthen the ties between the iSchool and the Information Management Department at Peking University,” added Boiko. “I see amazing opportunities for the iSchool to extend its global footprint and establish a relationship with one of China’s best institutions that is deep and transformative for both departments.”

The academic experience is only a part of the overall opportunity. Participating students will have a chance not only to work with their Chinese classmates, but they will live like their Chinese classmates. They will eat in the student cafés, sleep on or near campus and interact just like one of the locals both on and off campus. They will be paired with a local Chinese ‘buddy’ who will introduce them to the sites and culture of Beijing during their stay.

“You cannot help but make connections during a program like this. Both intellectual connections and social connections. My brain has been expanded so much by travel that I can’t help wanting to help others get that growth as well.”