Nine students from the University of Nairobi (UoN) will be heading to China to study Chinese language for six months at the Tianjin Normal University.

The students, from different academic backgrounds, were awarded scholarships to advance Chinese language education in Kenya through the Confucius Institute.

The UoN said the programme, which began in 2023, aims to integrate Chinese language instruction into Kenya’s national education system and enhance educational collaboration between the two countries.

This year’s cohort of Chinese language learners was commissioned by the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Affairs Professor Ayub Gitau.

He thanked the Director of Confucius Institute Professor Wang Shangxue, and the students for their joint efforts in winning the Scholarships.

Good experience

“You are going to be the ambassadors of the University of Nairobi, please explore and experience the rich culture of China and share the culture of the University of Nairobi with them. Learn more about their new model of International Chinese Language Education in the Context of Digital and Intelligence Transformation,” Prof Gitau said.

According to the Gitau, the application and practice of digital intelligence in Chinese language teaching at the UoN and the Confucius Institute demonstrates how digital technologies are transforming language in teaching.

Professor Shangxue hinted that plans are underway to award 25 scholarships this year to UoN students through the ‘2+2 Programme’, which means two years in the Kenyan university and two years in China.

One of the beneficiaries Joy Waswa said that it has been a good experience since joining the Chinese language programme adding that she managed to attain a mean grade of ‘A’ with 300 points to earn her full scholarship.

Her compatriot, Catherine Njuguna has a different story as she just completed her high school, and was jobless for a while before she successfully applied and won the scholarship.

UoN Director of Corporate Affairs and International Affairs John Orindi said that students need to align their goals with emerging global opportunities in the evolving global order.

Meanwhile, UoN has partnered with the Sikh Council of Africa in establishing the Study of the Sikh Dharam religion to be taught in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.