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UK and China Celebrate 40 Years of Student Exchanges
Leaders in the field of education and government representatives from the UK
and China gathered in London on Friday 21 November to celebrate 40 years
of student exchanges between the two countries and confirm their commitment
to facilitating another 40 years of such exchanges.
Ruth Hannant, Higher Education Director of the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills, attended the UK-China Mobility Forum, jointly
organised by the British Council and the Chinese Embassy in the UK. She was
joined by Sir Martin Davidson, CEO of the British Council, and His
Excellency Liu Xiaoming, China’s Ambassador to the UK.
The
event
brought
together
representatives
from
the
UK
and
Chinese
governments, alumni of UK-China exchanges and sector experts to celebrate
and reflect on the successes of the past 40 years. It was also an opportunity for
the UK and China to reaffirm their commitment to facilitating another 40
years of student exchanges and discuss strategies for achieving this.
Sir Martin Davidson, CEO of the British Council, said: “We know that there is
nothing more important than for our young people to meet each other, learn
from each other, and build relationships for their futures. I’m delighted that
the last 40 years has seen such a growth in student exchange between the UK
and China and hope the next 40 sees much more. But while the focus up to
now has been on young people from China going to the UK, the next 40 must
focus more on young people from the UK going to China.”
In his speech, H.E. Ambassador Liu said, “Sino-UK student exchange is built
on a foundation of positive relations between our two countries. This sustains
the student exchanges and drives its momentum. For our two nations the
student exchange greatly advances our people-to-people interaction and
builds a great bridge and bond between the people of China and Britain. It is
my very sincere hope that the UK will continue to be a primary partner with
China for student exchange. I am confident that with joint efforts, we will
harvest even richer fruit and write a more splendid chapter for China-UK
student exchange in the next forty years.”
1973 marks an important year for student exchanges between the UK and
China, as it was the year the Great Britain China Educational Trust was
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established, which seeks to support UK-China student mobility and promote
study of the Chinese language. In the 40 years since, student exchanges
between the two countries have flourished and there are now 135,000
Chinese students studying in the UK.
By comparison, only 5,400 UK students are in China, but this number is
growing rapidly, thanks to initiatives such as the British Council’s Generation
UK-China campaign, which is by BIS, DELNI and Welsh Government and
seeks to increase the number of UK students going to China to 80,000 by 2020.
The Student Mobility Forum saw keynote speeches from notable alumni of UKChina exchanges, such as Ms Fuchsia Dunlop, who, after studying at Sichuan
University in 1994, has gone on to become an authority on Chinese cuisine.
This was followed by a panel discussion on how increased student mobility
can
help
address
the
challenges
facing
the
UK
and
China,
such
as
unemployment and economic development, and what strategies are needed to
secure continued student exchanges between the two countries.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural
relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities
for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them
worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000
teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and
millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and
delivering education and society programmes.
We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded
grant provides less than 25 per cent of our turnover which last year was £781
million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers
around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and
from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in
pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the
UK and globally.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep
in touch with the British Council through twitter.com/britishcouncil and
blog.britishcouncil.org/.
About Generation UK-China
Generation UK-China was launched by the British Council in June 2013 to
encourage more students in the UK to undertake study and/or internship
placements in China. Scholarships for up to a year in a Chinese higher
education institution are available, or funded internships for up to two
months with a top Chinese company. All UK students aged 18 and over either
studying at a UK institution or having graduated within a year are eligible to
apply to Generation UK-China.
5,400 UK students studied in China in 2013, an increase of 27 per cent year
on year. There is already an upward trend of UK students coming to China.
This year, we’ve also seen a 50 per cent increase in Generation UK-China
applications year on year. Working with partners in the UK and in China, the
Generation UK-China campaign will boost the rapidly increasing numbers
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even further, encouraging UK students to come to China and creating even
more opportunities for them to do so.
Generation UK-China website: http://www.britishcouncil.org.cn/genuk
Generation UK-China video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2MTSHnctW0
Contact for media enquiries
Steven Hutt
Head of Outward Mobility
British Council China
steven.hutt@britishcouncil.org.cn
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Photos
China’s Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Liu
Xiaoming (centre), greets guests at the UK-China
Mobility Forum 2014.
Sir Martin Davidson, CEO of the British Council, speaks
at the UK-China Mobility Forum 2014.
Panellists discuss strategies to support student
exchanges between the UK and China at the UK-China
Mobility Forum 2014.
Guests and alumni of UK-China student exchanges chat
at the UK-China Mobility Forum 2014.
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(Full-resolution images available on request.)