Tianjin, June 14 (Agency) The Confucius Institute run by the University of Lisbon (ULisboa) in collaboration with its Chinese university partner was awarded “Model Confucius Institute” status in north China’s Tianjin Municipality on Tuesday. The Confucius Institute, established by Tianjin Foreign Studies University and ULisboa in 2008, is the first in Portugal to be awarded this title. The award marks a new start for the development of the Confucius Institute, and a new achievement of cooperation between China and Portugal in the field of education, said Zhao Lingshan, vice president and secretary-general of the Chinese International Education Foundation, which is the organization awarding the title.
“In addition to the courses offered by the Confucius Institute, we have been forming teaching partnerships with public and private educational institutions in Portugal,” said Luis Ferreira, rector of ULisboa. Up until now, the institute has had over 18,000 registered students. More than 90,000 people have participated in various cultural activities held by the institute, and over 100 students at the institute have received international Chinese education scholarships to study in China. The university will continue to fully support the development of the Confucius Institute in terms of teacher dispatch and teaching resources support, said Chen Fachun, president of Tianjin Foreign Studies University. The Confucius Institute is a non-profit education institution jointly hosted by Chinese and foreign partners, with the aim of communicating in Chinese, deepening international understanding of the Chinese language and culture, and promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and the rest of the world.