Educational links between UCC and China will be further developed with
a visit to UCC by a group of Chinese journalists on Wednesday 11
and Thursday 12 January 2006. The journalists are visiting Ireland at
the invitation of Enterprise Ireland, in advance of the forthcoming
visit to China by the Minister for Education and Science, Ms. Mary
Hanafin TD. The key focus of Minister Hanafin's visit to China next
month is the signing of a Mutual Recognition of Degrees agreement with
her Chinese counterpart, which will further develop educational links
between the two countries.
The journalists who will visit UCC are drawn from key educational
publications in China, including The Shanghai Morning Post, China
Campus and Modern Weekly. The group will be visiting UCC and other
Irish universities and higher education colleges with a view to
learning about the Irish higher education system, which they will then
write about in the Chinese media to coincide with the visit of the
Minister for Education and Science next month. The visit to Ireland
represents an excellent opportunity for UCC and other institutions to
raise the profile of Irish education in China.
While at UCC, the group will be received by the Registrar and Vice
President for Academic Affairs, Professor Paul Giller, and will be
offered a presentation on the University itself by the International
Education Officer, Louise Tobin. Members of the College of Science,
Engineering and Food Science and Technology will also participate. The
group will also have the opportunity of meeting representatives of the
Chinese student body in UCC. UCC operates a highly successful student
recruitment campaign in China and there are currently more than 120
Chinese students registered for undergraduate and postgraduate degree
programmes. A large number of the students have come to UCC from
Shanghai, Cork's "sister city", and this fact is likely to be focus of
discussions with the journalist from the Shanghai Morning Post.
An interesting aspect of the visit on this occasion is that the
Enterprise Ireland representative who will be accompanying the group to
Ireland is a Chinese graduate of UCC, Hua Gu, who is now Marketing
Executive for Enterprise Ireland in Beijing. Hua completed her Master's
degree programme in Food Business in 2004 and believes that her career
success has been directly attributable to her education in UCC. Says
Hua: "I chose UCC, this beautiful University, to pursue my
further education. UCC has equipped me with knowledge and skills,
opened up my career path, and led me to a better life. Returning this
week to my alma mater with this group of journalists makes me feel
extremely proud and honoured to be a graduate of UCC!"
MMcS168
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