Collaboration
Productive collaboration between the University of Edinburgh and China stretches back at least a century and a half.
The Confucius Institute for Scotland will work to continue the University’s long tradition of innovation and internationalism. This will be done by working in association with appropriate colleges and schools within the University and with other Scottish educational bodies. Activities will include
- promoting scholarship relating to China
- developing senior visiting fellow programmes
- supporting specific programmes of research
Chinese Alumni
The first Chinese graduate, Huang Kuan, received a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh in 1855. He was awarded Doctor of Medicine in 1857. Since then there have been a number of outstanding Chinese alumni of the University including:
- The late Professor Huang Kun, who worked with Max Born, the Edinburgh Nobel prize-winner in Physics, and who received the 2001 Supreme Scientific and Technological Award from President Jiang Zemin for his pioneering work in solid state physics;
- Professor Yang Liming, a major figure in nuclear physics in China;
- Professor Zhong Nan-shan, who identified the SARS virus, and who received an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh in Beijing in March 2007.
Award Ceremony in Beijing
More than 150 years of collaboration between the University and China was marked in style in March 2006 when a delegation of staff from the University of Edinburgh visited Beijing to celebrate Chinese academic achievement at the University.
The highlight of the event was the awarding of an honorary degree to University of Edinburgh alumnus Professor Zhong Nan-Shan, who identified the SARS virus. The award was made in the presence of former Chinese graduates of the University who were invited to attend the ceremony.
The ceremony was held 150 years after Huang Kuan graduated in medicine from The University of Edinburgh, the first Chinese graduate of any European University. Today the University of Edinburgh has almost 600 Chinese students across a wide range of disciplines.
Chinese Teaching in Schools
In cooperation with the Scottish-China Education Network, the Institute has worked with Moray House College of Education to develop a teaching qualification to enable Chinese language qualifications to be offered in Scotland’s schools.
