The Liu Institute continued to provide funding for student travel, research, and internships in the 2019-20 academic year. This included sponsoring two new student opportunities in Asia: the course Economic Demography in China by economics professor Eva Dziadula and an architectural masterplan project in Mumbai led by architecture professor Krupali Krusche.
ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY OF CHINA
A new summer course in 2019, Economic Demography of China, led 18 students to three mainland Chinese cities and Hong Kong to understand historical contexts that shape Chinese economics. Developed and instructed by economics professor Eva Dziadula, the course examined the economic effects of the one-child policy, migration, international trade, and other changes in contemporary China. Students took classes at the Beijing Global Gateway; worked with Habitat for Humanity in Chengdu to build a house for an elderly grandfather; visited factories, shipyards, and migrant housing in Shenzhen; and toured the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with Notre Dame alumni.
The Liu Institute provided partial student funding for the course.
“This experience was eye-opening to a culture, lifestyle, government, and economy that could only be fully understood by being immersed in the heart of it,” reflected Thomas Davis, an economics major.
MUMBAI ARCHITECTURE
Ten architecture students and their professor, Krupali Krusche, traveled to Mumbai for ten days in January for a project to plan a mixed-use development on a waterfront on the eastern edge of the city.
With partial funding from the Liu Institute, the students, along with an additional student who did not travel, studied such factors as rising water levels and climate change, metropolitan population growth and high-density, non-western architecture, and urban planning. Additionally, the students mapped the local architecture of the area, met with local architects and community members, and worked with a local developer team to create early schemes of design layouts.
Upon return, the students spent the rest of the spring semester working on the design of individual units and interior issues with a specific interest in materials that work well in the region. The plan included design for residential, commercial, and light industrial development.
The students collaborated with the chief architectural team for the Mumbai Port Trust under the Shipping Ministry, who reviewed the final student projects. Additionally, Dhiraj Mehra, the director of the Notre Dame Mumbai Global Center, assisted with the project.
“A population explosion is expected in Asia from 4.46 billion now to 9.7 billion by 2050 and reaching a peak at 11 billion by 2100,” Krusche said. “With these predictions, cities that have already large densities face major issues on how expansions need to be planned. It was extremely valuable for our students to not only think about these issues, but also to get an immersive understanding by visiting Mumbai. I am sure this experience will help them address these staggering challenges more effectively in their future careers.”