College launches new Chinese language website

newsCollege has unveiled a Chinese language website – and new profiles on popular Chinese social media platforms including YouKuTencent Weibo and Renren – as part of its efforts to increase international student numbers.

The new website, intended to attract prospective students in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong,  will allow the university “to stay in closer contact with our ever growing Chinese alumni community and to bring information about Trinity directly to everyone in China interested in learning more about the university, our world-class research and our links with Asia,”  the vice-president for global relations, Professor Juliette Hussey, said in a statement.

The announcement was made at College’s signing of a “memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange” in Beijing this week.

The move follows the recent announcement of plans to establish a new Trinity Centre for Asian Studies and a Trinity Global Undergraduate Scholarship for China, a new scholarship that will support a Chinese student’s undergraduate studies during the next academic year.

The centre, located in the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences, will offer a new multidisciplinary MPhil in Chinese Studies from September 2015. 

Three academics – Dr Xin Sun, an assistant professor in Chinese Studies; and Mrs Lu Xiaoxiang and Mr Jiang Renfeng, two new Mandarin language instructors – have already been appointed to oversee the two-year master’s programme. 

Speaking during an Education in Ireland mission to China this week, minister for education and skills, Jan O’Sullivan, said Trinity has “a strong record of strategic engagement in China.” Its new Chinese website, as well the announcement of its new scholarship programme “are concrete examples of the major advances it is making in this important market,” she said.

College aims to increase the number of non-EU students from 7.8% in 2012 to 18% by 2019 as part of its new five-year strategic plan, announced last Wednesday.

Catherine Healy

Editor of Trinity News. Interested in politics, history and all forms of media.