The UAB launches its second International Alumni Chapter in Beijing

12/03/2018

A UAB delegation headed by Rector Margarita Arboix recently created the UAB Alumni Beijing Chapter, its second international chapter, during an institutional visit to the Chinese capital which took place from 7 to 11 March. The first international chapter was created in 2016 in Brussels, where a large number of UAB alumni live and work.  

Together with Rector Arboix the delegation was made up of Màrius Martínez, Vice Rector for International Relations; Beatriz Ferrús, Director of the Department of Spanish Studies; and Marta Arumí, Coordinator of Interpreting at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

Attending the meeting were Chinese alumni, as well as UAB students who are currently participating in an international exchange programme in China. During this first meeting, delegates spoke about how the UAB aims to foster the international network of UAB graduates through its UAB Alumni: "Maintain ties with the UAB, favour networking among its community members and foster peer-to-peer relationships are the pillars of the international chapters, which become an opportunity for the university to connect with our international students in specific parts of the world", Màrius Martínez explains.

Li Enhan holds a PhD in Law from the UAB and is the first coordinator of the UAB Alumni Beijing Chapter, and together with other members she will be in charge of promoting ties between the UAB and the region: “The UAB Chapter not only aims to be a platform for alumni to exchange information and meet with other former students, it also strives to be a bridge through which all alumni members can remain in contact with the UAB and introduce the university to new students”, she explains.

As a Campus of International Excellence (CIE), the UAB has a long and firm commitment to the internationalisation of its institution and a solid relationship with China, a rapidly growing country with future value and with a strong impact in scientific and technological research. The Chinese community is one of the largest on campus and every year 250 Chinese students graduate from undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in all areas of knowledge. It is also the largest community enrolled in English and Spanish studies at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and in other programmes offered in English.

The UAB delegation took the chance during its visit to meet with four partner universities and with different institutitons with which the university collaborates in a variety of way: the Peking Univeristy (first university in China and one of the top 40 of the country), the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU, with which the UAB shares the Confucius Institute of Barcelona),  the Renmin University of China (with which the UAB shares the double degree in Law) and the China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU). The delegation also met with the China Scholarship Council (governmental organisation which since the 2010/11 academic year awards grants to 134 graduates who received their PhD diploma from the UAB), the Hanban (Confuciius Institute Headquarters) and the Education Department of the Spanish Embassy in China.

The UAB has always been a pioneering university in East Asian Studies. In 1988, it created the Centre for Chinese Studies and the Centre for Japanese Studies, which in 2000 became the Centre for International and Intercultural Studies. In the 2001/02 academic year, the three-year degree in International and Intercultural Studies was created as a UAB-specific degree; the first time a specialisation was offered in East Asian Studies. Finally, in the 2003/04 academic year the second cycle degree in East Asian Studies was created. Starting in the 2009/10 academic year, this second cycle degree was substituted for the current Bachelor's Degree in East Asian Studies offered uniquely at the UAB, making it the only university in Catalonia and one of the only in Spain to offer this degree. In 2008, the Confucius Institute Foundation of Barcelona was founded by the UAB, the UB, Casa Àsia and the BFSU, as the Chinese university counterpart and board of the foundation. Finally, in 2012 the Centre for International and Intercultural Studies was constituted as the East Asian Studies & Research Centre (CERAO) of the UAB.

More information: UAB Alumni