A delegation of University of Kentucky administrators and deans visited Beijing Institute of Technology at Zhuhai (BITZH) in early September. On Saturday, Sept. 9, a convocation took place to signify the UK-BITZH partnership and provide an opportunity for the College of Arts and Sciences and Gatton College of Business and Economics representatives to meet with BITZH second-year students who were interested in attending UK.
The executive director of the International Center’s Office of China Initiatives (OCI), Huajing Maske, cultivated the UK-BITZH partnership with scholars Kevin Zhen and Huajun Ye.
More than 100 students, with backgrounds in finances, engineering, international business and accounting, were interested in studying at UK and submitted applications to interview with members of the UK delegation.
Two hundred and thirty students and faculty attended the black-tie event. The convocation included an exchange of university banners between UK and BITZH and additional time for students to ask questions to UK delegation members about opportunities to study at UK before a British-style high table dinner. Afterwards, the highlight of the evening began as students interacted with UK administrators.
“We are very happy with the outcome of the UK-BITZH partnership,” Maske said. “This partnership allows for campus-wide collaborations and, in this case, with UK’s A&S and Gatton at the same time.”
The OCI strives to provide leadership in identifying, cultivating, building and sustaining UK partnerships with Chinese institutions. This unit of the UK International Center is continually working to create more opportunities for other colleges to join and benefit from the UK-BITZH partnership.