Cork Shanghai education links to deepen

Education links between Cork and Shanghai are set to deepen over the coming months, with free cultural exchanges to China set to be offered to Irish second-level students.

One of the first ever Chinese students to study in University College Cork also said he hopes to act as a bridge between Cork and Shanghai to help develop and deepen those links.

Henry Wang, 66, who was among a cohort of just 10 Chinese nationals studying at the university in 1991, and who retired last year from a senior position in global food giant Kerry’s growing China operation, said Cork and Shanghai can, despite their size difference, learn a lot from each other.

“I look at Cork as my second home town. Studying in UCC was a very important period of my life,” Mr Wang said.

“Now I have retired, I would like to become like a bridge, to connect Cork and Shanghai.

“Both are second cities of their countries, both are built on rivers.

“We can learn from each other. Chinese students can learn a lot, for example in the area of dairy science and computer science, and many Irish students can learn here, about different culture. There is much to learn.”

#Cork Lord Mayor .@chrisjoleary to address .@.@UCC .@CIT_ie event for alumni @ Irish consulate #CorkShanghai10 pic.twitter.com/uQuGoXDOmQ

— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) October 20, 2015

Mr Wang, who completed his masters in food science and technology in UCC in 1994 before returning to Shanghai to work first with Nestlé and then Kerry, was speaking at a reception in Shanghai for UCC and Cork Institute of Technology alumni and students.

The reception was hosted by the consul general, Therese Healy, a graduate of UCC, and attended by Cork’s Lord Mayor, Cllr Chris O’Leary.

From a cohort of just 10 Chinese students in 1991, UCC now has some 700 Chinese students studying on campus.

Emma Connolly, the international strategy officer with UCC’s international office, said the strength of the Cork Shanghai twinning link is that it is not just a political or economic relationship — it’s education and culture too.

UCC music teacher Ms Fen Long and Ms Jany Chen, of the International Education Association Shanghai, who oversee the Shamrock Cup, an English language competition for Chinese high school students which has as its prize a cultural trip to Ireland and Cork. They hope to expand a Chinese language version of the competition into Cork schools

High-level inter government contacts do filter down to real personal relationships on the ground, she added.

“And seeing our students out here is just so exciting,” she said.

“They are the future of the Irish China relations, and seeing that they are having so much fun, and making friends with real-life Chinese people, who will similarly learn about Ireland, is just so beneficial for the whole country.”

Jany Chen, the deputy secretary general of the International Education Association Shanghai, said that the twinning link led to the creation of the Shamrock Cup —an English language competition for Shanghai’s high school students — supported by Cork City Council.

The competition rotates through each of Shanghai’s 19 districts — each district has a population greater than Dublin — with students vying for their school to win just three places on a 10-day trip to Dublin and Cork.

“We have up to 500 people competing in the final. It’s proven very popular,” Ms Chen said.

The cover of the brochure for today's event, featuring 2 great skylines of the world *coughs* #corkshanghai10 pic.twitter.com/5PP4Ehejwx

— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) October 21, 2015

From a handful of high schools in one district a decade ago, schools in six of Shanghai’s districts now want to get involved in the completion.

And with more Irish schools now teaching Chinese, Ms Chen said they are in talks to launch a Chinese language competition in Irish schools with prizes of cultural trips to Shanghai on offer.

The Cork leg of the Shanghai student visits is overseen by UCC music teacher Fen Long, who said she also hopes to encourage Irish students to travel to China to study Chinese music.

UCC has an office in Beijing, which will be visited by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan next week, and it opened an office in Shanghai in February 2014, headed up by UCC masters graduate, Dr Haibo Huang, to liaise with its students in China, and to encourage Chinese students to study in Cork.

The view from the Bund #Shanghai #CorkShanghai10 pic.twitter.com/Jf0NiooLX9

— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) October 20, 2015

Mr O’Leary’s visit to Shanghai continues when he attends the Cork Shanghai economic forum, followed by meetings with high-ranking officials in the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, and a meeting with the mayor of Shanghai, Mr Yang Xiong today.