President Zhong Visits Famous Universities in Switzerland and the United Kingdom

President Binglin Zhong led the delegation of Beijing Normal University to the 2010 annual council meeting of the Confucius Institute, which was held from November 26-30 at the University of Manchester. He also attended the inauguration of the training classes of deans and directors from our university at Cardiff University.
At the council meeting of the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester, representatives of both sides reviewed the programs carried out by the Confucius Institute in 2010 and examined the work plan for 2011. Each councilor expressed appreciation for the achievements made by the Confucius Institute on Chinese language teachers training programs and the research done on Chinese education. The president of the council of the Confucius Institute and Vice-President of the University of Manchester Keith Brown, as well as other members of the council, attended the conference.
After the council meeting, the new President of the University of Manchester, Countess Nancy Rothwell had a friendly meeting with President Zhong. They exchanged their opinions on the current situation and challenges in the field of higher education, and both of them agreed to expand the cooperation between the two universities to a deeper level. During the visit, President Zhong and twenty-three deans and directors who are currently being trained at the University of Manchester, also paid a courtesy call to the Chinese Consulate in Manchester.
The inauguration of the training class of deans and directors of our university was held at Cardiff University on November 29, and both President Zhong and President David Grant of Cardiff University attended and addressed the students and teachers. In the speech, President Zhong encouraged the deans and directors to learn the management experiences at Cardiff University and to communicate actively with each other. In the evening, the Honorary President of Cardiff University Sir Martin Evans, a Nobel Prize winner, the ex-President Sir Brian Smith, and current President David Grant, hosted an impressive welcoming dinner. Twenty faculty and department deans and chairs, as well as administrative directors of Cardiff University joined in the dinner and communicated extensively with deans and directors of the training class from Beijing Normal University. The minister and counselor of the educational department of the Embassy of the People s Republic of China in the United Kingdom Xiaogang Tian was also invited to the dinner.
President Zhong, paid a return visit to the University of Zurich in Switzerland on December 2 and had an in-depth discussion with the President of University of Zurich Andrea Fischer about developing collaborative research in sociology, politics, psychology, and Chinese studies between the two universities. They reached a common view on advancing the communication between students of the two universities.