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On 17 June 2021, the Confucius Institute (CI) jointly established by the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) and Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ (Âéw¶¹´«Ã½) held its 7th annual joint board meeting online. Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ Vice Chancellor Katie Normington, Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ Pro Vice Chancellor Simon Bradbury, USTB President Yang Renshu, USTB Vice President Yan Xiangbin, the CI’s Executive Director Kate Gerrard and all other board members attended the event. The CI’s Chinese Director Yang Yingjun chaired the meeting.

VC Normington emphasized Âéw¶¹´«Ã½'s focus on cultural diversity and acknowledged the great efforts made by the CI in this regard despite the pandemic. It is her hope that with the CI as an important platform the two partner universities could cultivate a more international vision and develop more valuable cooperation opportunities for both staff and students. She also cited a Confucius's saying that “Only when the year grows cold, do we understand that pines and cypresses are the last to wither.” to describe Âéw¶¹´«Ã½’s long-standing and profound friendship with USTB. She wished USTB’s 70th anniversary celebration next year a great success and expressed her hope to be part of the events.

President Yang Renshu began with congratulations to Professor Normington on her new role as Vice Chancellor of Âéw¶¹´«Ã½. He expressed his appreciation of the great efforts made on both sides to ensure the smooth running of the CI during the pandemic. He stressed that in the past seven years USTB has always been a strong support to the CI since it is an ever-expanding bridge to facilitate growing cooperation programs for the mutual benefit of both institutions. He looked forward to further exchanges and collaborations with Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ in more fields. He concluded with a sincere invitation to VC Normington to visit USTB as a distinguished guest and to deliver a keynote address at the Presidents’ Forum, one of a series of events to mark UTSB’s 70th anniversary.

Director Yang Yingjun presented to the board a summary report of the CI's work in 2020 and the 2021 work plan. His report focused on four aspects: cooperation and exchanges between the two universities, Chinese teaching programs, cultural events and publicity. Despite of the pandemic, USTB and Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ completed a new joint agreement, a more solid foundation for the healthy development of the CI and the long-term cooperation between the two sides. One of the latest successful joint efforts was the “Chinese Bridge” Online Group Exchange Project that enrolled 64 students from the UK and other countries. A great stride made by the CI was the launch of a GCSE Chinese program at Welland Park Academy, an initial step to bring Chinese into the local education system. The CI organized 101 cultural events in 2020, quite a number of which were covered by BBC, ITV, Xinhuanet, China Daily and other local and global mainstream and social media platforms. It has been one of the CI’s endeavors in 2021 to further enhance Chinese teaching, carry out more teaching and cultural projects, and promote more in-depth cooperation between the two universities. 

The board approved the CI’s annual report of 2020 and the 2021 work plan together with the new budget. The two sides confirmed their support of the CI with all possible resources and explored possible mutual visits and the long-term cooperation strategies and short-term exchange programs for students.

In their concluding remarks, PVC Bradbury and Vice President Yan expressed their appreciation for the remarkable achievements of the CI and their gratitude to the local and Chinese colleagues for their perseverance in face of the pandemic. They believe that the signing of the new agreement and new the work plan will usher in a better future. They offered fresh guidance for the improvement of the CI, for better quality of international Chinese education to contribute to the rich cultural diversity of Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ and Leicester, and for more rewarding teacher and student exchange programs.

PVC Bradbury also congratulated Professor Yan on his new role as Vice President of USTB and looked forward to further deepening the partnership with USTB.