From the eight dishes to the deep lane food, from the mountains and lakes to the modern city scenery… … In recent years, china has unswervingly demonstrated an open and inclusive attitude with concrete actions. Many international students and tourists from all over the world have come to China, leaving their footprints in cities and countryside, at the same time with the camera to record the novel experience and beautiful moments.
The country’s development and prosperity, can not be separated from the significant increase in cultural influence, soft power and hard power complement each other. As China and foreign countries have closer non-governmental exchanges, the credible, lovable and respectable image of China has also been deeply rooted in people’s minds. In this process, educational exchanges have played an important role. Through study abroad, postgraduate studies and various cultural activities, Chinese youth have been able to step onto the international stage, foreign youth can also take this opportunity to come to this ancient civilization“To explore.”.
Cross-cultural exchanges open new doors for the younger generation
The British Council’s goal of bringing young people from Britain and other countries, backgrounds and languages closer to each other in global cultural exchanges has been an important one.
Ozan Revi, Minister Counsellor for Culture and education at the British Embassy and deputy director of the British Council for China, told reporters that educational exchanges between China and the UK not only provide valuable learning opportunities for young people, it also opens a special door to mutual understanding and respect, and more importantly, “These exchanges will inspire innovation among young people around the world and enable them to work together to face the world’s common challenges.”
Ozan Revi, minister counsellor of the Cultural and education section of the British Embassy and deputy director of the British Council in China, spoke to the media at the China International Education Expo 2024. British Council for Culture and education, picture
Indeed, the number of Chinese students studying in the UK has continued to grow over the past decade. More than 150,000 Chinese students attended British Higher Education Statistics Agency in The 202223 academic year, according to figures released in August by The Higher Education Statistics Agency. At present, the total number of alumni in China has exceeded 750,000, many of whom have made important contributions to local development after returning home.
At the same time, more than 67,000 young Britons have taken part in study, internship or other educational programmes in China over the past decade through the British Council and its wider programme, we have established a solid friendship with our Chinese peers and laid the foundation for enhancing mutual understanding and trust between the two sides. Among them, as the basic carrier of all kinds of communication, language learning in the two countries has also shown a growing attraction. “We are delighted to see that more and more Chinese students are improving their English, and chinese-speaking young Britons are emerging,” says o’ryan.
In 2016, the Department for Education funded the Mandarin Excellence Programme, organised by the Institute of Education at University College London and the British Council, he told reporters. In the eight years since its launch, more than 12,000 students from 79 secondary schools in England have been involved in learning Chinese and Chinese culture.
In July this year, the British Council and the Center for sino-foreign Language Cooperation and exchange of the Ministry of Education of China organized the largest summer camp in the history of the“Chinese Peiyu” program, nearly 1,200“Chinese Peiyu” students participated, making it the largest single country study tour in China. During the 11-day trip, the group visited 18 colleges and universities in 10 cities in China, working with Chinese language partners to experience the fun and charm of Chinese culture.
It is worth mentioning that in the British council, there is a“Language” can also play an important role in the cultural exchange between the two countries-sports. “There is no doubt that sport is a powerful force and a tool that can cross borders, bring people from different backgrounds together and enhance understanding,” says o’ryan.
To this end, the British Council and the Premier League have jointly created the“Premier Skills” campus football coaching programme, which uses football as a vehicle for training PE teachers and coaches. Since its launch in China in 2009, the project has helped to develop school football in China by leveraging the expertise and resources of the Premier League and the education network of the British Council, to promote the exchange of campus sports and cultural education between the two countries. So far, the project has covered 28 cities and trained more than 6,300 grass-roots coaches, referees and physical education teachers in China, benefiting more than one million young people. “The significance of this project goes beyond the stadium, where football is not only a sport, but a vehicle to inspire the next generation to move forward,” o’ryan concluded.
Supporting policies and benefits add to the attraction of studying abroad
As a well-established and popular destination for overseas students, the UK’s higher education has remained highly attractive in recent years, and better supporting policies and benefits have solved many problems for applicants.
Josie Zhang, senior marketing manager for Northeast Asia at the British Council, told reporters that British universities have the world’s most diverse subject offerings, offering undergraduate courses in more than 50,000 different disciplines. There are 17 British universities in the top 100 of the QS 2024 College and University Rankings. More than half of this year’s Nobel laureates are alumni of British universities (including bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees) . In addition, according to the QS Global Graduate Employers Survey, the United Kingdom education work-study ability in the world’s top 5. College courses closely linked with industry provide a fundamental guarantee for students’ future employment.
Ms Zhang adds that, from a practical point of view, studying in the UK is also“Value for money”, with average costs lower than in the US and Australia. And the tight and rigorous academic system, at the same time shortened the time to obtain a degree, “Most bachelor’s degrees take only three years to obtain, while master’s degrees take one year. This not only reduces the total cost of studying abroad, but also increases the cost of studying abroad, shortens the time spent in school, and allows more time to explore development possibilities or enter the job market more quickly.”
2024 China International Education Exhibition UK Education Zone. British Council for Culture and education, picture
Zhang Jing stressed that over the years, students from China have been enriching the academic atmosphere in the UK, but also for the UK around the injection of diverse vitality and vitality. Therefore, the UK continues to promote a variety of good policies to further encourage and support Chinese students to study in the UK.
In particular, the British Council launched the Great Scholarships Campaign in 2017, partnering with a number of universities to set up scholarship programmes, we will encourage and support more Chinese students to pursue further studies in the UK, realize their dreams and values, and train talents to keep up with the times for the world. A single scholarship of no less than # 10,000 supports a wide range of academic applications, most of which are subject-wide. On the 18th of this month, “2025 extraordinary British scholarship scheme” has been officially launched, University of Nottingham, University of Glasgow and University of Kent British Universities will award a number of scholarships for Chinese students.
Business and finance majors in UK universities have long been attractive to Chinese students. However, data in recent years show that more and more overseas students are choosing majors such as education, journalism and communication, and art and design, “It also reflects a new generation of young people in China who are more open-minded and flexible about their future life and career plans,” said Zhang.
As for job hunting, Zhang Jing told the reporter that unlike students from other countries, most of the Chinese students studying in the UK are willing to go back to their home countries. This is closely related to the sustained development and diversification of the Chinese economy and the increasingly optimized inclusiveness of employment. The UK Alumni Association of the British Council is also committed to providing a wide range of support to international students who are about to graduate or have already graduated, to help them establish a global career network, access to career development and career guidance and other comprehensive support.
The cooperation among education, science and technology, and talents continued to advance on all fronts
Over the years, China and the UK have been working hand in hand in the field of education. According to Donald Hu, China Education Director of the British Council, the Ministry of Education has so far recognised more than 260 sino-british joint ventures, including 45 joint ventures, more than 81,000 students are enrolled. There is a wide variety of programs available, both full-time and part-time, from pre-college to bachelor’s to master’s degrees.
Hu noted that the sino-british cooperation in running schools inherits the employment orientation of British education and devotes itself to cultivating students’ employability. In the specialty setting, many projects closely linked to the regional economic development cycle and characteristics, set up a strategic industry-related majors, and strive to train students as cutting-edge professionals. In the teaching process, the teaching team in the project are closely connected with the industry, in the understanding of the cutting-edge development trends, but also to provide students to participate in real cases, solve real problems. If students choose to complete their undergraduate studies at a UK partner university, they will have the opportunity to take part in Placement at the UK partner university. They can choose to spend up to one year studying in a company, putting their theoretical knowledge into practice, gain some industry experience before graduation. Many joint projects have created bilingual teaching environments that enable students not only to acquire academic expertise, but also to develop language communication skills and prepare them for a globalized work environment upon graduation.
On the basis of cooperation in personnel training and education, china-uk scientific research collaboration is also advancing steadily. “The UK and China are each other’s second-largest partners in terms of the number of scientific publications produced, and the scientific impact of uk-china joint publications is three times the global average. The two sides have carried out cooperation in areas such as sustainable development, agricultural innovation, an aging society and global health. These joint research projects not only promote technological innovation and social progress in the UK and China, but also provide valuable cutting-edge research and employment opportunities for Chinese students,” Hu stressed.
The British Council, through the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) , has created a long-term mechanism to promote research and innovation cooperation between the two countries, helping more than 100 Chinese universities and research institutes to establish links with more than 50 British universities and research institutions, bringing together the best talent from both countries, work together to address global challenges such as health and Ageing, climate change and sustainable agriculture.
Today, the British Council has been through 90 years, and the cooperation with China has entered the 45th year. Over the past 45 years, language learning, educational study abroad and cultural activities have created numerous opportunities for young people from both countries to exchange and cooperate, and have witnessed the growth of their knowledge, skills, confidence and mutual friendship.
For this, “We are confident that cross-cultural exchanges, centred on educational exchanges, will have a very positive impact on young people on both sides,” o’ryan concluded. The experience of being international and global will greatly enrich their personal experience and become a valuable asset in life.”