Dialogue with Li Lin: Helping International Students Overcome Adversity

During his sophomore year of business administration at the University of Pittsburgh, Li Lin was faced with the choice of whether to return to China to visit his family or to take credits, and he decided to move back to China. In the past 8 years, CUSSA (China University Summer Schools Association) founded by Li Lin, a post-90s Hubei boy, has become the largest and most successful international summer school association in China.

While New Oriental and other local education groups are aiming at being listed on Nasdaq, Li Lin goes in the opposite direction and brings the most popular transfer credit service and summer school programs back to China.

Occasional ideas create a trend for international students returning home for summer school

In 2010, Li Lin entered the University of Pittsburgh to start his study abroad career. The fast-paced classroom, language barrier, and cultural barrier made him extremely uncomfortable, and he failed one of the Shakespeare courses which taught the history of Western literature. American university education is based on a credit system, and Li Lin felt that he might not be able to finish all the credits required for graduation in 4 years if he was not successful in his studies.

He learned that there were quite a few Chinese students facing this problem as well, and many of them were attending "summer school", which is a credit-bearing summer program. They used their vacation time to complete their courses. At the time, Li lin was homesick and wanted to go back to China to be with his parents and friends in the summer, then he thought why not put the summer school model in China?

In the summer of 2012, he and his team successfully opened the first International Summer Program at Wuhan University, inviting professors from famous foreign universities to China to teach undergraduate academic courses to returning overseas Chinese students.

The origin was simple, purely not wanting to delay graduation, and the initial model was also very simple. Almost half of the students in the first year were from Pittsburgh. In the first year, 200 students successfully participated in the program, and all of them transferred their credits back to their universities abroad.

After the first year of the program, the feedback from students and their parents was very positive, as it helped them graduate early, saved a lot of money, and reduced the financial burden. Li Lin decided to develop the program so it could benefit more families.

High-speed development and the pioneer leading international education

The startup world is confused to find the right direction, yet some entrepreneurs are born at the direction. Li Lin is lucky to find what to do from his own experience.

North American Summer School, North American Winter School, Australian Summer School, Wuhan University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Beijing University of Technology, Ocean University of China, Shanghai Normal University, Chongqing University, Sichuan Normal University, Nanchang University, Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan) …… The rapid increase in the number of students brought more partners. Meanwhile, CUSSA program has been accredited by the Ministry of Education CDGDC, JS&A, CHESICC, IERF, Global WES and other international authorities. Its campuses are also AACSB accredited by the Global Elite Business School.

From 2011 to now, CUSSA has helped more than 10,000 overseas Chinese students take advantage of vacations to return home and earn credits for overseas graduation, achieving fast graduation and saving a lot of money. CUSSA has helped tens of thousands of families save the pressure and financial burden of their children studying abroad.

The Future is Limitless when helping international students overcome adversity

Behind the success, there is extraordinary hardship. "I often work with domestic team during the day, and at night to work with the team in the United States." Li Lin is very grateful to have like-minded business partners, who shared lots of pressure with him. In addition to the strength of the team, a good body also supported him through the path of entrepreneurship. Li Lin adhered to sporting. Since 2007, he has participated in several national triathlon, the best result is the sixth in the country.

Li Lin, who started from solving the issues of studying abroad, slowly found that for an international student, there is also a similar "Study Abroad Triathlon". For example, adapting to the foreign education, study and living problems in daily life, and seeking a job after graduation. Starting from the summer school, Li Lin has led CUSSA to expand its business space, and to help more Chinese students and parents to go beyond the “Study Abroad Triathlon”.

"In the next few years, in addition to North America and Australia, which CUSSA has already covered, we will gradually extend our business to Europe and other regions. Meanwhile, our own study abroad brand and international job search brand will also be launched in the second half of this year to provide more professional services with high-quality for overseas Chinese students and prospective students. Therefore, study and life abroad will no longer be difficult." Li Lin is full of confidence in the development of the industry and believes there is unlimited imagination in the future.