WHEN Professor Liu Zongming, the president of the University of Jinan in Shandong Province, China, sat down at a meeting in Kingston with Professor Dale Webber, pro-vice chancellor and principal of The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, they connected through interpreters.

But if both men have their way, in a few short years more Jamaican and Chinese students will be able to communicate using their language of choice.

The UWI and the University of Jinan reaffirmed their commitment to foster greater collaboration between the two institutions with the ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and student exchange agreement in the council room at the Mona campus.

This signing comes on the heels of a virtual MoU signing on July 6, 2022, during the launch of the China-Caribbean Development Center, established in Jinan, Shandong province, to strengthen cooperation with Caribbean countries. Under the terms of the agreement, The UWI and the University of Jinan committed to work together to promote cooperation and exchange in a range of areas. These include collaborative partnerships to facilitate students, faculty, and staff exchanges. This will enable both institutions to share knowledge and expertise, enhance their research capabilities and broaden their academic focus.

In addition, the two universities agreed to establish and promote areas of research collaboration, and cooperation in fields of mutual interests. This may include conducting collaborative research projects and/or the exchange of academic information and materials, among other things.

Professor Webber and President Liu exchanged MoUs and gifts, including a special painting presented to The UWI in honour of its 75th anniversary.

Speaking at the signing, both Webber and Liu expressed satisfaction with the partnership.

“Our university is built on what we call the triple A strategy — access, alignment and agility. And therefore, as we progress with our discussions, we would like for our students to have access to all that happens within the University of Jinan, and for students at the University of Jinan to have access to what we offer here at The University of the West Indies,” Webber said.

He added that the partnership was significant, coming at a time when university regulations would soon dictate that all UWI students demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language ahead of graduation.

“I am delighted to attend the ceremony to jointly sign the exchange agreement between the two universities, and to discuss our future development and cooperation,” Liu remarked.

“We have established scholarships for international students, and so we want to welcome students of The UWI,” he said.