University of Opole in China
On 17-18 November 2017, the Vice-Rector for Science and Finance, Prof. Janusz Słodczyk and Dr Stankomir Nicieja were guests of the Fujian Normal University (FNU) in Fuzhou, China. The Chinese university, with which we have cooperated for two years, celebrateted the 110 anniversary of its establishment. The jubilee celebrations were attended by presidents and vice-presidents of dozens of Chinese universities and representatives of foreign universities cooperating with the FNU.
Prof. Janusz Słodczyk gave a talk at a session attended by university presidents, which concerned the issue of developing world-class universities. The authorities and universities in China pay special attention to the ways of raising the international rank of their universities. The session was a good opportunity to exchange experience.
The Fujian Normal University is the largest and oldest academic institution in the richest region of China - Fujian. It has over 30 thousand students. Some students from the FNU participated in two editions of the summer school organized by the University of Opole and currently, within the student exchange cooperation agreement, the FNU students participate in classes at the UO. In the spring semester, a group of UO students will have a chance to study in Fuzhou.
The meeting in Fuzhou was also a very good opportunity to start talks on cooperation with representatives of other Chinese universities. Presidents of universities in, inter alia, Shanghai, Nanlinu, Hong Kong and Macau expressed their interest in the student and staff exchange with our university.
A meeting with students who had participated in the Summer English Language School organized by the University of Opole was a memorable event. - Students gave us a very warm welcome – said Prof. Słodczyk. - They remember fondly our university and teachers, and they would like to visit Opole again.
On November 16, Professor Słodczyk and Dr Nicieja visited the Fujian University of Technology. During the visit, Prof. Słodczyk and the Vice-President of the Fujian University of Technology, Professor Liu Guo Mai signed a cooperation agreement and planned specific actions for the near future. They emphasised the importance of participation of Chinese students in the Summer English Language School organized by the UO, and the development of student exchange. They also defined terms and conditions on which Chinese students could study at the UO.
The Fujian University of Technology has a modern, well planned campus, used by about 40 thousand students. Its authorities place particular emphasis on the cooperation with industry and business. The University has modern laboratories for educating students of physics, technical programmes, and such innovative programmes as a Smart Cities programme. Although it is a university with the prevalence of technical study programmes, humanities, particularly language and translation studies, are also developing dynamically.
During their stay in China, Prof. Słodczyk and Dr. Nicieja met also with President Prof. Zhonghua Wang and other representatives of the authorities of the University of Mingjang, which is another big university of a general academic character in Fujian province. Over 25 thousand students live and study in three campuses. The authorities of the university are proud of the fact that the current President of the PRC, Xi Jinping used to be the President of the University of Mingjan for six years. The University's strategy of internationalization is based on encouraging its faculty members to earn their doctorate degrees at different universities in the world. Consequently, the Chinese partners were particularly interested in the possibilities of participating in doctoral study programmes and dissertation preparation involving two supervisors – one from China and one from Poland..
The University of Opole started also a very promising cooperation with the South-West University in Chongqing, considered in China to be the largest city of the world. The Vice-Rector of the UO, Prof. Janusz Słodczyk and the Vice-President of the SWU, Prof. Jin Yule signed a cooperation agreement. In the course of the talks with the authorities of the Faculty of Philology, it was established that the first phase of the cooperation will focus on language studies, and English studies in particular.
The South-West University is a leading university in Chongqing. It comprises 31 faculties and independent institutes, educating annually over 50 thousand students. The University is open to international cooperation. Its authorities are particularly interested in the One Belt, One Road Initiative, which recreates the idea of the ancient Silk Road, joining China with Europe in terms of the exchange of goods, services, people, and information.