Professor William Brown, who has been teaching business in Xiamen University's MBA Center since September 1988, is the first foreigner to get permanent residence in southeast China's Fujian Province.

Besides tricks for case studies, the 60-year-old, who is a former member of the Magic Castle, the magic academy in Hollywood, also does juggling, plays poker and the guitar to make his classes more fun.

"There's no way to limit students' use of mobile phones in the classroom. So I just see it positively: be creative and do more communication," he said.

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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