On November 14, at the invitation of the International Office of De Montfort University (DMU), representatives from seven of the university's Chinese partners attended the three-day conference at DMU Leicester. These partners included:
- Beijing Institute of Technology
- Beijing Jiaotong University
- Canvard College of Beijing Technology and Business University
- University of International Business and Economics
- Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange
- Wuhan University of Technology
- China University of Petroleum (East)
The conference has been the first Chinese Partner Conference since 2019. As an important part of the conference, and as a platform and window to showcase the university's international cooperation and multiculturalism, the partners are invited to visit the Confucius Institute which is cofounded by De Montfort University and the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB). The visit was chaired and received by Gu Wei, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute.
After extending a warm welcome to all the visitors, Professor Gu Wei led them on a tour of the Confucius Institute and briefed the distinguished guests on the staff, history, mandarin teaching, cultural activities and the cooperation between the Confucius Institute and the local community. After the introduction, the guests watched a short film on the anniversary of the Confucius Institute, which deepened their understanding of the Confucius Institute. At the end of the video, Gu expressed her gratitude to DMU and USTB for their support, and expressed her expectations for CI's future development.
After the presentation, the voluntary teachers of CI performed the Northeast Yangko dance and Tai chi fan. Their wonderful performances won bursts of applause from all audience, comforted the visitors’ homesickness, and strengthened their confidence in spreading Chinese culture overseas.
At the end of the visit, the guests took a group photo with the CI team, and the visit came to a cheerful end. This visit promoted the communication and mutual learning between DMU Chinese partners and USTB-DMU CI, greatly enhanced the popularity and influence of the Confucius Institute, thus laying a solid foundation for close cooperation in the future.
Posted on Tuesday 21 November 2023