Queensland University of Technology has signed off a final agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Education to establish Queensland's first Confucius Institute by the end of 2008.
The QUT Confucius Institute will deliver a range of courses and services designed to develop and nurture the teaching of the Chinese language in Queensland.
QUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Coaldrake met the Director-General, Chief Executive of the Chinese Language Office (Hanban), Madam Xu Lin, in the People's Republic of China last week to seal a contract that will see the Institute headquartered at QUT's Kelvin Grove campus in the Faculty of Education over the next few months.
QUT's partner in the Institute is the Jiangsu Education Department which is based in the province of Jiangsu, located on the eastern seaboard of China with a population of 74 million.
"The establishment of the Institute builds on a 10-year relationship between QUT and the Jiangsu Education Department that has seen more than 1000 teachers from schools, colleges and universities in eastern China undertake professional development at QUT," QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said.
"This agreement demonstrates the strong relationship that QUT has built in delivering real world teaching and education solutions with its Chinese partners," he said.
Initially the Institute will work with Education Queensland and the Australian Independent Schools Association to deliver in-service courses for Chinese language teachers. As part of the arrangement, up to three teacher trainers will travel from China to join the team.
The Institute will also work with QUT's corporate partners to explore industry needs in the areas of Chinese language acquisition for business purposes.
The Institute, will offer its courses throughout Queensland, and will have the ability to deliver customised courses at both QUT's Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point campuses in Brisbane.
Media contact:
Janne Rayner, QUT media manager, on 07 31382361
