On 7–11 December 2016, a JU delegation led by Prof. Wojciech Nowak, JU Rector, visited China to attend a series of meeting with higher education institution officials. Other members of the delegation included Prof. Zdzisław Mach, Dean of the Faculty of International and Political Studies, Prof. Adam Jelonek, Head of the Institute of Institute of the Middle and Far East, Director of the Confucius Institute in Kraków as well as Han Xinzhong, Deputy Director of the Institute.
The JU delegation met with representatives of the Beijing Foreign Studies University, one of the best Chinese higher education institutions in the fields of translation, diplomacy, and international cooperation, with which the Jagiellonian University has been closely collaborating for over a decade. During one session, the member of the delegation discussed introducing new joint BA and MA study programmes with BFSU Rector Prof. Peng Long, BFSU Vice-Rector Prof. Yan Guohua, and BFSU Dean of the Faculty of European Languages and Cultures Prof. Zhao Gang.
The high level of cooperation is proven by the fact that the JU Institute of the Middle and Far East and the Confucius Institute in Kraków are among the founding members of the International Society for Chinese Studies, which brings together leading Chinese higher education institutions – Beijing Foreign Studies University, Renmin University, Minzu University, Beijing Normal University, and Zheijang University – and their foreign partners.
On 8 December, the delegation took part in a working conference of 22 Confucius Institutes from Europe, Asia and the United States. Prof. Wojciech Nowak delivered the closing speech. Next, JU representatives visited the oldest chair in Polish language in China. They met with student who had spent the previous semester at the JU School of Polish Language and Culture.
The latter part of the visit involved taking part in the international conference of Confucius Institutes held in Kunming, capital of the Yunnan province. The delegation met with China’s Vice-Minister of Education, Prof. Hao Ping, who – as the then rector of the Beijing Foreign Studies University – signed a cooperation agreement between the Jagiellonian University and BFSU in Collegium Maius in 2006. They signed two new agreements pertaining further collaboration. On 10 December, Prof. Wojciech Nowak received the Confucius Institute of the Year Award on behalf of the Confucius Institute in Kraków.
