Columbia Asia-Pacific Development Society

Columbia Asia-Pacific Development Society (CAPDS) is the largest student organization at Columbia University. The CAPDS promotes cultural and economic communication among Asian and Pacific Rim countries.
Organization
The U.S. headquarters are located in New York City, NY, and China headquarters are in Beijing. In addition, CAPDS has over 30 chapters in various universities around the United States, Canada, and China, including Columbia University, Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, Cornell University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Programs
CAPDS programs are hosted in the United States, Canada, Japan, China, and Korea. Current CAPDS Programs include the Ivy-China Elite Development Program, the Columbia-Asia Young Development Program, the Community Engagement Program, and the Internship Program, as well as Customized Programs.
Ivy-China Elite Development Program
The purpose of Ivy-China Elite Development Program is to let Chinese secondary school students in the traditional Chinese education system feel the shock of an Ivy League education. The students in the program follow ten carefully designed courses. They get a dose of interest-led independent thinking, teamwork, and the Ivy League model of study. After a brief two-week stay, students will gain not only knowledge, but also new attitudes toward studying, and a vision of life that they may never have thought about.
Columbia-Asia Young Development Program
The Columbia-Asia Young Development Program is designed for the intelligent and passionate young people from Japan, China, and Korea. Offered one to three times each year in Summer and Winter, the program consists of a series of innovative lectures and several stimulating fieldworks, addressing fundamental board skills. 40-45 delegates are selected from top universities and organizations across Asia. This program services intellectually driven young people who have something special to offer to their classmates and communities. Their common denominators are a record of academic achievements, demonstrated leadership and the ability to work as members of a team.
Community Engagement Program
This program encourages volunteer work in China and Korea. Currently CAPDS sends students to the Guang Ai Migrant Children's School to work with the orphans and children there. Volunteers live in the dormitories of a CAPDS-affiliated university in Beijing and commute to the Guang Ai Migrant Children’s School in the city's outskirts. In addition to volunteering, program participants attend social work training sessions and discussion workshops as well as receive rudimentary instruction in Chinese. During the weekends, volunteers participate in activities exploring Beijing.
Conference
Columbia Asia-Pacific Development Society also aims to connect companies, social organizations, and individuals. The next forum will take place in Beijing, China. The conferences aim to foster meaningful discussions on a wide variety of subjects, especially politics, business, journalism, and culture as they relate to China. To this end, the April 25 conference, entitled "A Glimpse of China's Future," will be keynoted by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
Partners
The Columbia Asia-Pacific Development Society has partnerships with many organizations, including:
*Princeton Asia-Pacific Education Association - PAPEA is the biggest Association for Asia-Pacific Education. Events included the reception and interview of distinguished guests to Princeton University, such as heads of foreign states, ambassadors, university presidents, social and commercial celebrities, etc.
*Weatherhead East Asian Institute - Since its establishment in 1949, Columbia University's East Asian Institute has been a major center for research, teaching, and publishing of modern and contemporary Asia, covering China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Korean peninsula, and the countries of Southeast Asia.
*Peking University Global Exchange Network for Students - GENS is closely involved in the international exchange of Peking University.
*Givology - This is an Internet online giving marketplace for education that supports student scholarships and grassroots education projects in the developing world.
*Ivy Council - The Ivy Council is an organization comprised of student government leaders, student groups leaders, and students at large from the colleges and universities of the Ivy League.

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