On Friday 12th October, YAFA had the pleasure of organising a lecture relating to Scotland China relations at Peking University in collaboration with the Scotland China Education Network (SCEN). The event provided Peking University Students with an introduction to Scottish culture, traditions and typical Scottish food, while also exploring the relation between the two countries from an educational perspective.
The event was hosted by Tario Perez Vila, lead YAFA organiser for the event and International SCEN Ambassador at Peking University. He drew on his personal experience of studying as an international student in Scotland, mentioning the welcoming nature of Scottish society and the overall friendly atmosphere towards international students throughout the Scottish higher education system. He also introduced Scottish culture and traditions, as well as discussing current study-abroad opportunities for Chinese students. This included both undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Scottish universities, as well as different scholarship and internship options available for Chinese students.
The event also featured Natalie Hotchkiss, YAFA event organiser and exchange student from the University of Edinburgh. She talked about her experience living in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and introduced the city to the students. She also touched on famous Scottish festivals, such the famous, annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival — the worlds largest arts festival, bringing together artists from all over the world to Scotland. She also talked about the University of Edinburgh study exchange programme with Peking University, and the current opportunities for Peking University students to study abroad in the Scottish capital.
After the country introductions, the main event focused on Scotland and the Scottish Educational System. YAFA was honoured to host the Chair of the Scotland China Education Network (SCEN), Mr Simon Macaulay, who delivered a presentation on Scotland China relations from an educational perspective.
Mr Macaulay introduced the particularities of the Scottish educational system, and talked about the evolution and growing demand for Chinese language learning in Scotland across all stages of the educational system, thus leading on to discuss Mandarin teaching opportunities in Scotland. Mr Macaulay acknowledged that this development and implementation of Mandarin teaching across Scotland was due to the increased support from both the Scottish Government and Hanban (the Office of Chinese Language Council International, affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education). He also praised the key roles played by the Confucius Institutes and Confucius Hubs in the teaching and promotion of not only Chinese language, but Chinese culture in Scotland.
Overall, the event increased students’ understanding of not only Scotland, its culture and traditions, but also provided an introduction to the Scottish educational system. In particular, the increasing importance of Chinese language learning and, therefore, the growing opportunities to teach Chinese in Scotland.
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