Author: Issal Yaghi
On Thursday morning, November 30, representatives of Wuhan University and the University of Aberdeen held their Confucius Institute annual board meeting on Wuhan University’s campus to discuss the collaboration between the two universities. Professor Tang Qizhu, vice president of Wuhan University, and Professor Alan Speight, vice president of the University of Aberdeen, attended the meeting, along with Sarah Wang, the manager of the Confucius Institute, and professors from WHU’s School of Law, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, and School of History.
Professor Tang Qizhu, vice president of WHU, delivered the opening speech to welcome the representatives of the University of Aberdeen and express his affirmation of the achievements of the Confucius Institute in the past. He emphasized the long and strong cooperation between the two universities, highlighting their status as valuable partners to each other in various fields. The vice president further expressed his belief that the institute serves as a bridge that brings both universities closer together, establishing a foundation for broader academic collaboration and benefiting the universities and society at large.
Vice president of the University of Aberdeen, Professor Alan Speight, started his speech by congratulating Wuhan University on its anniversary and expressing his gratitude to WHU for being one of their most important partners in China. He focused on the importance of deepening collaboration between the two institutes by attracting more students to learn the Chinese language, having more exchange opportunities between the two universities and expanding the academic work into more fields of research.
During the span of the meeting, Xu Dongyang, co-director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Aberdeen, presented a summary of the institute’s 2023 annual work, which included the addition of more majors into its academic activities, such as archaeology, translation and law, and having professional teacher training to ensure teaching quality. These initiatives attracted the attention of many British institutions, prompting them to consider adopting similar practices in addition to arranging different activities to represent Chinese culture and arts. He also shared the institute’s goals for next year, including the exchange of members and teachers between the two universities, recruiting three new professional teachers, focusing on digital marketing to attract more learners and conducting a summer camp on the WHU campus for students to experience the local culture.
Another item on the agenda involved a discussion on deepening the bilateral relationship between the universities. Professors from WHU’s School of Law, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, and School of Chinese Language and Literature spoke about continuing the joint Master’s degree program, focusing on providing more exchange programs for students and designing a student-centric program that facilitates increased exchanges between teachers of the two universities in the future.
Edited by: Cao Hangqian
