On April 19, 2024, the delegation from the University of Strathclyde visited the School of Foreign Languages (SFL), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), headed by Professor Ian Rivers, Associate Principal and Executive Dean of the Faculty and Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Strathclyde. Other members included Dr. Lizann Bonnar, Vice Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ms. Fhiona MacKay, Director of Scotland’s National Centre for Languages (SCILT) and the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS), and Ms. Wendy Liu, General Manager of CISS.

Professor Yu Senlin, Dean of SFL, Professor Zeng Xiangmin, Assistant Dean of SFL, Associate Professor Liu Bo, Deputy Director of the International Communication Center, Dr. Zhang Juyan, Director of the English Department, and Ms. Li Li and Ms. Gao Yuhua, teachers of the Department of International Chinese Education received the delegation.

Professor Yu Senlin first extended a warm welcome to the delegation and gave an introduction to SFL, including the history, faculty, departments, projects, social services, international exchanges, and student activities of SFL. Professor Yu also expressed the willingness to advance projects of the VET (Virtual Exchange Teachers) project and “Beyond the Panda”, as well as promote cooperation in dual degree programs. Then, Professor Ian Rivers briefed on the development of the University of Strathclyde and shared views on the importance of cooperation between the two universities.

University of Strathclyde and SFL established cooperation in 2019. Associate Professor Liu Bo reviewed the engagement of the Department of International Chinese Education of SFL in promoting Chinese education in primary and secondary schools in Scotland since 2019. During the COVID-19 epidemic, teachers and students from SFL helped teachers in Scotland with Chinese education timely. Ms. Fhiona Mackay appreciated the efforts of SFL, spoke highly of teachers’ contribution to the VET project, and expressed her gratitude to SFL. Then, Dr. Zhang Juyan introduced the development, research, and projects of the English Department and proposed some ideas for future cooperation.

The two sides reached a consensus on advancing present cooperation projects and promoting more projects in joint training of students and scientific research.