The delegation arrived in Luton last week (Wednesday 27th August), and was formally welcomed by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ashraf Jawaid OBE and Harry Wang Director of the International Office. The group were then given an introductory session on the cultural differences between the UK and China after which they were taken on a tour of the Luton Campus and shown around the town centre.

“We have a really exciting programme planned for the students over the next two weeks,” said Janie Kingsley, the University’s International Marketing Manager for China who organised the visit. “They really enjoyed the session about cultural differences and we have organised lots of excursions for them to discover the more of the UK including trips to Cambridge, Oxford and London as well as our campuses in Putteridge Bury and Bedford.”

One of the highlights of their visit will be a taster workshop on Stop Motion animation in the University’s School of Art and Design, the former Alexon Building. The students will also get a taste of academic life with sample lectures from the Business School, Department of Finance and the MBA team.

This is the first time Lixin have sent their students and staff to the University of Bedfordshire, and it follows on from a visit by 20 home students to Shanghai for a summer school earlier this month.

Both institutions have agreed to further their partnership in staff and student exchange on both short-term and long-term projects, and develop in-depth collaboration academically and culturally.