Chinese delegation welcomed to Cardiff

A delegation from China is embarking on a 12 week professional development programme to learn more about leadership and management in Higher Education.

Delivered by senior staff from across the University, the course has been commissioned by the China Scholarship Council and is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015 between Cardiff University and the China Scholarship Council, in the presence of China’s Vice Premier, Madame Liu Yandong during her visit in Wales.

During the programme, university mid and senior-level leaders from across China will find out more about university change programmes, managing human resources, leadership style, developing academic teams and how to elicit and reward high performance.

Examples of best practice from Cardiff University will be used across the programme, which has been designed by the Continuing Professional Development Unit and Ms Sarah Lethbridge, Director of Executive Education at Cardiff Business School.

The programme will involve a mixture of presentations from the University’s Professional Services, teaching delivered by Cardiff Business School and the University’s Human Resources team, and English language tuition.

In addition to the teaching and practical workshops, a range of social and networking events have been added to the schedule. These events help to facilitate ever greater professional and personal relationships

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Elizabeth Treasure hosted a welcome dinner for the delegation and said: “We are delighted to welcome you all from so many distinguished universities from across China, including Xiamen University – one of Cardiff’s two global strategic partners. We look forward to nurturing new relationships and partnerships with you.”

The welcome dinner was also attended by Minister Counsellor Shen Yang from the Embassy of China.  In his opening remarks he thanked Cardiff University for developing the programme and wished all delegates well with their studies and the opportunities they have to explore deeper cooperation between China and UK universities.

Professor Martin Kitchener, Dean of Cardiff Business School, said: “Our collaborative relationships with China and Chinese institutions deliver a number of benefits to our staff and students. I’m delighted that the Business School was asked to deliver much of the teaching for this bespoke programme for the China Scholarship Council.”

The University has a long-standing relationship with China with 47 formal academic links and strategic partnership agreements with universities across the country for both research collaboration and student exchange.

The University’s partnership with the China Scholarship Council stretches back several years and has seen scholars progress from postgraduate studies into senior academic positions.