The Confucius Institute at The University of Queensland has promoted two training initiatives for staff in the first five months of 2017.
First, an eight week language course developed in conjunction with the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (EAIT) is being delivered to academic and professional staff. Participants will develop essential communication skills with a focus on the practical use of Chinese (Mandarin) language as well as incorporating some socio-cultural knowledge.
Approximately 60 individuals from across the Faculty are participating. Senior management including EAIT Executive Dean, Professor Simon Biggs have shown strong support for this initiative by enrolling for the course.
Second, a specialised course on Chinese business etiquette, recognized officially by UQ’s Staff Development Program, was delivered to team members from UQ International. Over 30 staff, across the two sessions during May, participated. This is the third year in a row this course has been made available to staff at The University of Queensland.
These two initiatives have been developed acknowledging UQ’s increasing engagement with China and highlightingthe need for people to people engagement between the two countries.