General
Shandong Province Delegation Visits Mak, Presents Nishan House
A delegation from the Shandong Province of the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday, 11th November 2019 visited Makerere University and presented the Nishan House; a symbolic representation of the birth place of Confucius, the great philosopher after whom Confucius Institutes are named. The delegation was led by Honourable Fu Zhifang, President of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPC).
Earlier, the delegation had visited the Confucius Institute (CI) at Makerere University where they unveiled the Nishan House. According to the Shandong Friendship Publishing House website, Nishan House has since establishment served as an important platform to collect and exhibit the excellent achievements of human civilizations and to promote the cultural exchanges between China and other countries. The Nishan House at Makerere University will add to the 25 Nishan Houses located in 14 countries worldwide.
Welcoming the delegation, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Dr. Umar Kakumba extended warm greetings from the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe who is away on official duty. He thanked the President and his delegation for taking time off their visit to Uganda to meet the University Management, tour the Confucius Institute and unveil the Nishan House.
“We are delighted to host the Confucius Institute at Makerere University as a platform for cultural exchange, sharing Chinese literature and books and promoting cooperation between our people and Chinese institutions” remarked Dr. Kakumba.
He noted that China through the Confucius Institute was reaching out to the wider section of the Ugandan community by offering Chinese language classes to secondary school students and members of the public. He shared that Makerere University had responded by “offering the Bachelor of Chinese and Asian Studies as a way of giving our students certified degrees for their linguistic knowledge of Mandarin.”
The Director, Confucius Institute at Makerere University, Prof. Xia Zhuoqiong in her presentation to the delegation shared that her Institute was hailed as the best worldwide on 5th December 2018 during the 13th Confucius Institute Conference held in Chengdu, China. She added that to help extend services closer to the population CI currently has seven teaching sites in Uganda.
Prof. Zhuoqiong added that CI conducts training for Chinese teachers in Ugandan secondary schools and in September 2019, held its first Seminar for the educators. The Seminar held at Luyanzi College Bweyogerere, was aimed at improving Ugandan Chinese teachers’ understanding of Chinese teaching and enhancing their level of instruction in the same.
Honourable Fu Zhifang in his remarks expressed heartfelt thanks to Makerere University for the warm reception and hospitality extended to his delegation. He also lauded the University Management for maintaining an atmosphere that is conducive to pursuit of academic excellence and promotion of cultural exchanges at the campus.
He assured the young people that they would enjoy boundless opportunities in the future if they went on to master Mandarin through the degree programme and courses offered by the Confucius Institute. President Zhifang also noted that Confucius Institute belongs to the world and serves as a great opportunity to promote people to people exchanges. He then presented the DVCAA with a gift of the Shandong people, depicting important historical figures.
The day would have been incomplete without a demonstration of linguistic mastery of Mandarin. This was provided by way of a vote of thanks moved by Ms. Eunice Nakina aka Yang Sisi on behalf of the students of the Bachelor of Chinese and Asian Studies. Going by the nods of approval from the President and his delegation, Ms. Nakina did a splendid job.
The delegation’s visit was crowned with a song performance by Confucius Institute students.
Article by Public Relations Office
General
Makerere University and Xiangtan University Advance Strategic Partnership in Chemical Engineering
Makerere University and Xiangtan University are set to update their close to 20-year academic partnership, with a new focus on launching a joint Master’s degree program in Chemical Engineering and expanding student and staff exchange initiatives.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a recent visit by a delegation from Xiangtan University to Makerere University headed by Professor Dingyu Ou, in the company of Mr. Tang Fei and Professor Gilbert Gumshabe, the Chinese and Ugandan Directors of the Confucius Institute at Makerere University respectively.
While addressing the delegation, Professor Nawangwe highlighted that this initiative is part of a broader strategy to diversify academic offerings and contribute to national development through training in Chemical Engineering. Through this new initiative, the University will better prepare graduates for the petrochemical industry and support the country’s industrial growth.
The Vice Chancellor appreciated that the proposed collaboration aims to address Uganda’s growing need for industrial expertise, particularly as the country develops its petroleum sector. The two universities here are working toward a 1+2 training model, which will enable Makerere students to gain practical experience and access advanced laboratory facilities at Xiangtan University.
Professor Nawangwe further reiterated that “our relationship with the people of China, not just for Makerere but also for a big part of Uganda, has been opened wider by the establishment of the Confucius Institute, considering that many other collaborations like one being discussed now have come through this collaboration.”
The head of the Xiangtan delegation, Professor Dingyu Ou, expressed appreciation for the meeting, and acknowledged the history between the institutions. “As mentioned, we have a very long relationship and a very stable friendship between our two universities.”
Professor Ou extended appreciation for the support provided to the Confucius Institute at Makerere, the care shown to his colleagues, and looked forward to the successful start of the Chemical Engineering collaboration.
Assuring the delegation of Makerere’s readiness for the collaboration, Ms. Hawa Ndagire Kajumba the Lead, Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement, Makerere University Advancement Office, aligned with the Vice Chancellor’s emphasis of University goal to have both theory and practice imparted to the students.
She said “the curriculum of the university and Uganda as a whole is moving towards competence-based education training to ensure students are equipped to demonstrate those skills in the actual field, particularly regarding petroleum exploration.”
Ms. Ndagire Kajumba also emphasised a shift in strategy for the partnership office, saying, “we are moving away from just signing MOUs that collect dust, and moving towards those that are more collaborative to benefit our faculty and students, just like this one.”
Professor Gilbert Kumushabe aligned his remarks with those of the Vice Chancellor and Ms. Ndagire Kajumba, and described the method used at Xiangtan University as “actually competence-based teaching.”
Based on his recent visit, Prof. Gumoshabe shared that students in China are divided into groups with dedicated teachers to perform practical, hands-on work beyond the theoretical lecturers. He expressed gladness that the same was being adopted for the Ugandan context.
Both institutions are now working to finalise the specific agreements for the joint degree and exchange programs. Beyond academic training, the collaboration will advance cultural and professional exchange.
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