ZU-Based Confucius Institute all set to educate local students

Over 200 new students register for Chinese classes each term at the Zayed University-based Confucius Institute (CI) to learn the language and culture of the great nation. 

Since its founding back in 2010, CI welcomed hundreds of school and university students and local community members to benefit from the offered courses and extracurricular activities. The institute attracted learners of all age stages, six being the youngest and a 60-year-old student. 

Based on both Zayed University Campuses, and three other universities in the UAE, CI serves as a bridge between the UAE and China to facilitate and enhance the cooperation between the UAE and China in the Educational and research fields. 

Du Wei, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at Zayed University, said, “There are more and more local people who want to learn Chinese and Chinese culture. Our principle is to cultivate local and high-level talents for the United Arab Emirates base on Zayed University and to meet the needs of the society and other colleges.” 

The United Arab Emirates government aims to cultivate the future diplomats who understand Chinese and Chinese culture and future leaders who would deal with Chinese affairs in different fields. “Great importance is attached to the program by the government and Foreign Ministry of the UAE, Chinese embassy in UAE, Zayed University and Confucius Institute.”

Every year, the Chinese embassy in UAE invites students to the National Day reception. Confucius Institute also provides them with opportunities to join in associations of overseas Chinese and to attend forums and activities related to the Sino-Arabic relationship. During the summer vacations, students also travelled to China to visit and practice. 

Earlier this year, His Excellency Prof. Reyadh Al Mehaideb, Zayed University Vice-President, said that the university has tied with Beijing Foreign Studies University BFSU, a leader in the Arabic language learning programs in China, to enroll outstanding Chinese students every year at the ZU-based Confucius Institute to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and to fluently speak and write the language. 

“We will coordinate further plans that develop bilateral student exchange programs that allow students to enroll in both institutions and gain learning experiences either through the regular academic programs or extracurricular activities,” he said.

He also mentioned the possibility of establishing a joint degree program in a different mode of cooperation. “Students enrolled in College of Business, College of Arts, Department of Arabic, International studies at BFSU can for example, be studying for two years or three in China, and spend one year at Zayed University, taking relevant courses, and will have the benefit of obtaining two degrees from both universities, which will greatly enhance their competitive strength in the market. This also contributes to the development of both countries given the prospects that UAE and China are experiencing a peak in their relations,” Al Mehaideb said.

His Excellency called upon International students from China, who do not have Arabic as a first language, to come and learn Arabic at Zayed University as they are developing the same program, offered by BFSU. 

Moreover, the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, a leading educational publisher in China, focusing on foreign language teaching and learning, aims to publish journals and books edited by Zayed University scholars in China, to enlighten Chinese citizens with great insights and materials covering various fields in the region.