Chinese delegation visits Cardiff for potential collaboration opportunities

This month, the School of Modern Languages welcomed a delegation of Chinese academics to Cardiff.

On 26 September, a group of colleagues from Shandong Academy of Social Sciences visited the School to discuss potential collaboration opportunities in the areas of research, education and business.

The group were joined by Professor Kenneth Hamilton, Dean (International) of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Welsh Government representative, Jason Thomas, who both gave welcome speeches and presentations on behalf of the University and Welsh Government.

Shandong is located on the Eastern coast of China and has a population of over 97million. It is famous for its brewing industry Tsingtao Beer and for being the hometown of Confucius.  It is an economically strong region which has had success in branding and tourism as well as heavy industries, including mining, shipping manufacturing and offshore oil. In 2015, Shandong’s GDP ranked third nationally out of China’s 34 provinces.

Shandong Academy of Social Sciences was set up in 1978 and is managed by the Shandong Municipal Government, acting as its ‘think tank’. The Academy has branches and centres in each of the 17 prefectures of the Shandong province. In close collaboration with over 30 universities across the Shandong province, the Academy runs joint research projects at regional, national and international levels, actively contributing to the strategic development of Shandong Municipal Government.

Professor. Hongying Yuan, Vice President of Shandong Academy of Social Sciences provided a detailed presentation on the history and culture of Shandong, the research disciplines and research strength of the Academy. She also proposed specific areas of collaborations with the University and Welsh Government, including joint research bids, student recruitment, business and mutual visits.

The visit was concluded joyfully with an exchange of gifts – Professor Rachael Langford, Head of School, presented the delegates with a traditional Welsh love spoon and received The Sacred Stone of the Tai Mountain in return. Tai Mountain is China’s tallest mountain which was visited by each of the dynasty emperors over three thousand years. The gift of the sacred stone is representative of China’s history for protection and peace.

Pictured from left to right:

Dr. ZHANG Nianming, Researcher of Finance Research Centre, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Mr. HOU Shengping, Senior Accountant, Vice Director of Centre for Accountancy, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Professor ZHANG Wen, Director of Finance Research Centre, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Professor YUAN Hongying, Vice President of Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Professor Rachael Langford, Head of Modern Languages, Professor Kenneth Hamilton, Head of Music and Dean (International) of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Jason Thomas, Deputy Director of the Commercial and Property Operations for Cadw, Professor Loredana Polezzi, Director of Research, School of Modern Languages and Dr. Haili Ma, Dean of the Beijing Normal-Cardiff Chinese College, School of Modern Languages.