Published by: Office of International Relations Editor: Li Fang

WUST News In order to further promote the international exchanges and cooperation of the WUST, help Africa train teachers, recruit and train African international students, explore the establishment of Confucius Institutes and the WUST Africa Institute in cooperation, establish school-enterprise cooperation platforms, and strengthen the cooperation between the WUST and African enterprises, Xu Yanbing, Secretary of the Party Committee of the WUST, led a delegation to visit Kenya and Tanzania for exchanges from 18 to 26 September, 2024.

During the stay in Africa, Xu Yanbing, Secretary of the Party Committee of the WUST, and his delegation visited officials at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the University of Nairobi and the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, Maasai Mara University, the Kenya Institute of Administration, Kilimall, a cross-border e-commerce company in the Youth Innovation Park, Kampala International University in Tanzania, University of Dar es Salaam, the State University of Zanzibar, the Tanzania-China General Chamber of Commerce, and China Railway Construction Engineering East Africa Company.

During the visit to the University of Nairobi and the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, Xu Yanbing met with Margaret Hutchinson, Acting President of the University of Nairobi. Xu Yanbing expressed his hope that the new round of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation would be an opportunity to implement the spirit of the important speeches made by General Secretary Xi Jinping, strengthen cultural exchanges between China and Africa, carry out substantive cooperation between the two sides, promote exchanges of teachers and students, welcome African post-doctoral scholars to work at the WUST, and increase the number of international students. Xu Yanbing also pointed out that China, as a major country in infrastructure construction, has supported the construction of many projects in Africa. The two sides can work together to cultivate engineering talents, cooperate in the medical field to promote the advancement of Kenyan medicine, and can also carry out scientific and technological cooperation in fields such as metallurgy, mining and machinery, where the WUST has relatively strong academic strength. Margaret Hutchinson, Acting President of the University of Nairobi, warmly welcomed the delegation. She said that she had attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing earlier this year. It was her first visit to China and she was deeply impressed. She was willing to have in-depth exchanges with the WUST in various fields and strengthen cooperation. The two sides reached a consensus on future cooperation and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the WUST and the University of Nairobi. The signing of the MoU indicates that the two universities will carry out in-depth cooperation in-depth in various fields and build a broader platform for educational and cultural exchanges between China and Kenya.

After the talks, the delegation visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, learned about the experience and role of the Confucius Institute in promoting international "Chinese+" education and facilitating China-Kenya cultural exchanges, and held a recruitment promotion meeting for international students for more than 150 students of the University of Nairobi, where the education plan and recruitment policy for international students at WUST were introduced in detail.

During the visit to the Kenya School of Administration, Xu Yanbing held talks with Professor Nura Mohamed, Dean of the Kenya Institute of Administration, and other heads of the International Cooperation Department. Xu Yanbing said that visiting the Kenya Institute of Administration is an excellent way to understand Africa. Exchanges between China and Africa should not only expand people-to-people exchanges but also deepen the exchange of governance concepts between the leaders of the two countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to strengthen exchanges between China and Africa, especially in personnel training. The Kenya Institute of Administration has special advantages in personnel training. He indicated that the two sides could cooperate in talent training, skills training, etc. Meanwhile, the education of African international students at WUST could incorporate administrative management concepts to help African international students smoothly enter management departments after returning to their home countries. Professor Nura Mohamed, Dean of the Kenya Institute of Administration, was a Chinese overseas student and obtained a PhD in economics from the Central University of Finance and Economics. He said that the Kenya Institute of Administration has a long history of exchanges with China, and Kenya shares the vision mentioned by General Secretary Xi Jinping. As a former Western colony, Kenya has a lot of knowledge and government governance systems from the West. Now Kenya also hopes to learn from China's experience at the same time, and learn knowledge from both the West and the East with an open mind. They hope to cooperate with the WUST in the training of personnel and the exchange of books and study materials.

During the visit to Kilimall, a cross-border e-commerce company in Kenya, Xu Yanbing visited Kilimall's head office and logistics sorting centre, learned about its management, operation mode in Africa and the goods it sells. He said that the two sides can cooperate in vocational and technical training, provide academic education for Kilimall employees, cultivate high-level technical talents, improve the quality of employees, and at the same time, the two sides can cooperate in youth innovation and entrepreneurship. Li Jiaxi, General Manager of Kilimall in Kenya, said that he has always hoped to improve the professional skills of local employees. He was worried about the lack of cooperation channels. He thanks WUST for the help. By working together to train and develop local African staff, the company can be better managed and serve Kenya and East African countries.

During the visit to the Kampala International University in Tanzania, Xu Yanbing, had a meeting with Professor Angwara D. Kiwara, President of the Kampala International University. Xu Yanbing introduced to the other side the history of the WUST, its disciplinary advantages, and the situation of international students' education to the other side. He expressed his hope to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Africa, especially with Tanzania, in the establishment of Confucius Institutes or Confucius Classrooms and at cultivation of international students. Many disciplines at WUST are similar to those in the Kampala International University in Tanzania. It is proposed to cooperate in talent training and cultivating talents in the advantageous disciplines of WUST such as materials, metallurgy, mining, machinery, civil engineering, and medicine. Students from Kampala International University in Tanzania can study at the WUST on a "2+2" or "3+1" basis. Excellent undergraduate students may be recommended to study for a Master's degree at WUST. At the same time, it is proposed to deepen the teacher exchange mechanism. Kampala International University in Tanzania can send teachers to study at WUST, and WUST can send teachers to teach in Tanzania. Professor Angwara D. Kiwara said that he had always been following China's development closely. He had visited China before and brought back a lot of advanced Chinese ideas and concepts. China has provided substantial assistance to Tanzania, such as helping to build libraries and community facilities. He thanked the delegation for choosing to visit his university and felt like family when he had the opportunity to communicate face to face. He hoped that both sides would strengthen cooperation in various aspects such as medicine, pharmacy, mechanical manufacturing, computer, and artificial intelligence, send students to WUST for study and further training, help train and cultivate teachers, conduct joint scientific research, cooperate in establishing a student innovation and entrepreneurship center, and hoped that WUST would establish a Chinese language center. The two sides reached a consensus on future cooperation and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between WUST and Kampala International University in Tanzania.

During the delegation's visit to the Tanzania-China General Chamber of Commerce, China Railway Construction Engineering East Africa Company and the State University of Zanzibar, Xu Yanbing hoped that all parties would work together to deepen cooperation and exchanges, establish a talent cultivation base in Africa, jointly build a high-level Luban Workshop, provide skill training and academic education, and at the same time proposed to actively promote Chinese teaching and "Chinese+" projects in Africa, further promoting the high-quality development of the WUST's discipline construction, international cooperation and exchanges. (Office of International Relations)