GIX, a graduate institute jointly run by the University of Washington and prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, will start receiving applications this fall for the first class of students for a dual master’s degree program to begin on its campus in 2017. The first on-the-ground project of a Chinese university in the United States, the program aspires to educate “the next generation of innovators” through “project-based learning.” 

Skipping over community input seems to be common practice for class projects during my experience taking courses about Global Health at the UW. But while some may think that no one would be harmed with hypothetical school projects, this practice could have long term effects. Students can’t develop the practical skills of creating partnerships with the local communities where they someday will work.