Chairman of the University Council Liu Jianping Attends the 4th Board Meeting of the Confucius Institute at UQ

The 4th Board Meeting of the Confucius Institute at the University of Queensland (UQ) was convened at UQ on November 15th. A Tianjin University (TJU) delegation headed by Professor Liu Jianping, Chairman of the University Council and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Confucius Institute at UQ, attended the Board Meeting. Also in attendance were Professor Bai Haili, Executive Vice Dean of the Graduate School and Professor Yang Fuling, Director of the International Cooperation Office, both members of the Board of Directors.

The TJU delegation was warmly received by UQ and the Consulate General of China in Brisbane. Present in the meeting with the TJU delegation and at the Board Meeting were Dr. Anna Ciccarelli, Deputy Vice Chancellor (International) and Chair of the Board of Directors, Professor Max Lu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Graham Schaffer, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, Professor Nancy Wright, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Chen Ping, Director of the Confucius Institute and the representatives from the Consulate General of China in Brisbane.

At the Board Meeting, Dr. Ciccarelli pointed out that the Confucius Institute has played an important role in promoting the mutual understanding and exchanges between the two universities, as well as the friendship between the two countries, and its success has benefited from the long-term partnership between the two universities, and particularly under the strong leadership of Director Chen Ping. She also indicated that the agreement on a TJU-UQ Joint PhD Program signed earlier this year between the two universities was a wonderful example of their cooperation and the level of the PhD education of both universities. Speaking highly of the achievements the Confucius Institute has made over the past year, Chairman Liu said that the Confucius Institute has become the bridge of exchanges and cooperation between the two universities as well as the two countries. He added that with the Confucius Institute as a wonderful platform, the exchanges and cooperation between the two universities with its unique characteristics have been developed on all fronts, covering the areas of research, faculty and student exchanges and joint PhD programs. He also expressed his hope that with the development of the Tianjin Binhai New Area, cooperation between the two universities could be further deepened so as to better serve the development of the two universities as well as the cities where the two universities were located.

Director Chen then presented the 2011 Full Year Report of the Confucius Institute in terms of its staffing, finance and activities, including the Chinese language teaching (HSK Test), the International Conference on Translation and Interpreting at UQ, and TJU-UQ student and staff exchange. The report of Director Chen and the Minutes of the Board Meeting on July 1st, 2011 were endorsed, and a consensus was set for the date for the next two Board Meetings in the following year after the discussion.

Founded in 1910, the University of Queensland (UQ) is one of Australia’s largest and most prestigious universities and one of Australia's top three universities, measured on a combination of research funding and academic standards. It is also a member of the Australia's Group of Eight coalition. The university has the most PhD students in Australia, with 45,455 students, including 11,364 international students from 134 countries. It is internationally renowned for its strength in education and research. UQ was ranked 48th worldwide in the 2011 QS World University Rankings and 86th in the 2011 Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities.

In October 2009, TJU and UQ signed an Agreement for the Establishment of the Confucius Institute at UQ. Since then, four Board Meetings of the Confucius Institute have been held. The Confucius Institute has set up research funds for joint research between the two universities. In 2010, three scholars from both sides were funded for their exchanges, two from TJU to UQ for two-month joint research. In November 2011, with funding from the Confucius Institute, one postdoctoral fellow from UQ will visit the School of Chemical Engineering at TJU for joint research. Since 2010, the Confucius Institute has funded 52 UQ students to participate in the Summer Program at TJU for cultural and academic exchange. Since 2012, TJU will send the first batch of students to UQ for a one month exchange. In addition, both universities have developed diversified cooperation programs. Eight students from TJU have been admitted to UQ for PhD degrees through the PhD Program funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). In October 2010, the "University of Queensland Day" was held successfully at TJU. In November that year, TJU's first "Tianjin University Day" overseas was held at UQ with great success. Recently, a delegation from UQ headed by Professor Max Lu visited TJU and signed an agreement on a TJU-UQ Joint PhD Program, which marks a breakthrough in the cooperation of the two universities promoted by the Confucius Institute.