From left: Division of Planning and Development project officer Wang Yucui, Division of Legal Affairs and Ad Hoc Projects deputy director Yang Guang, Mr Sun, Mr Yue, senior advisor international relations Angela Drake, Mr Ning, director international relations Michael O’Shaughnessey, Professor Thomas, Centre for Professional and Continuing Education programme coordinator Danette Whitehouse, Centre for Professional and Continuing Education director Andrea Flavel, Assistant Vice-Chancellor Research, Enterprise and Academic Professor Giselle Byrnes, senior advisor academic and international Ursula Nicholls.
A delegation of senior Chinese officials, led by the deputy secretary-general of the China Scholarship Council, Zhang Ning, visited Massey University’s Manawatū campus last week to sign a major training programme agreement.
The agreement between the two institutions formalises an arrangement that has resulted in 228 academics from 38 Chinese universities participating in a short course delivered by the University’s Centre for Professional and Continuing Education in the past three years.
The Chinese Embassy education counsellor Chen Yue and attaché Paul Sun accompanied the delegation, which spent time engaging with the group of up-and-coming Chinese academics currently taking part in the programme.
The six-month programme is focused on providing participants with the ability to identify and implement new teaching methods for agricultural students and is taught by staff from the Institute of Agriculture and Environment, the Institute of Animal, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Education.
The visit also provided an opportunity for Massey to strengthen the relationship, with Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas announcing plans for a doctoral scholarship agreement. The agreement will see the council supporting top Chinese students in all disciplines to complete their PhDs at the University, including those studying at the University’s New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre.
Professor Thomas will host a reception in Beijing next month, to which the council’s senior officials and council-sponsored students have been invited.
The council is the leading Government funder of scholarships for overseas training and study.