Students encouraged to benefit from Chinese scholarship scheme

Chinese govt has fixed a scholarship quota of 60% for  OBOR member states

PHOTO: FILE

ZHENGZHOU:
The Chinese government is offering higher education scholarships for Pakistani students, besides other member states of its One Belt and One Road (OBOR) initiative. Students from all OBOR-countries, especially from Pakistan, are encouraged to get benefit from this preferential scholarship scheme, said Sias International University (SIU) President Dr Sikun Chen on Saturday.

He was speaking during a briefing held for a Pakistani media delegation visiting Henan province.

Dr Chen said that the Chinese government has fixed a scholarship quota of 60% for the OBOR member states. He added that as many as 27,000 students, including 300 international students from 25 countries, are enrolled in the SIU. Two Pakistani students also completed their degrees from the SIU last year.

The university employs over 1,500 full time faculty members, including 135 full time foreign teachers, and has the highest foreign faculty to student ratio in China. It offers degrees in nine disciplines, including liberal arts, science, engineering, economics, management, medicine, law, education and performing arts. It has 75 undergraduate degree programmes, 15 associate degree programmes, five graduate programmes and six dual degree programmes with Fort Hays State University from Kansas, USA.

Being one of the best international universities, he said, it enjoys partnerships with 114 international partner schools in 35 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Indonesia.


Dr Chen indicated that it is the first American university in central China that is developed to cater to the modern educational needs. It is affiliated with Zhengzhou University and Fort Hays State University of Kansas, USA. It is the first full time undergraduate university approved by the Degree Committee of the State Council in China to grant both Chinese and American bachelor's degrees through its dual degree programmes.

Being an international university, he said, the SIU has already partnered with the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, and Gandhara University, Peshawar, but he is trying to collaborate with more Pakistani universities for which several faculty and student exchange programmes are being planned.

Dr Chen said that the OBOR initiative is very good initiative of the Chinese government to promote trade and economy of all member countries, but people to people interaction and communication is necessary to reap full benefit of this initiative. He underlined the need for more and more educational, cultural and professional exchange programmes between China and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, SIU School of International Students Dean Jinjin Chu said the university has a student-oriented curriculum based on theoretical and practical teaching methodologies. The university is continuously improving its teaching quality which enables graduates to get better jobs. “The university is consistently ranked among top three schools in all Henan universities in job placement every year. The SIU graduates always receive praise from employers for their excellent communication skills, all-round abilities, creative thinking and strong work ethics.”

She also organised a campus tour for Pakistani media delegation and showed them various departments, multi-storey 24/7 library complex, spacious playgrounds, dancing fountains and international shopping arena to test students’ business start-up ideas.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2017.
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