On July 5th, 2021, the opening ceremony of the first Campus EUROASIA Project Summer School and the first day of keynote speeches by experts were held simultaneously at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies and the Sofia University, Bulgaria. 30 students from the two universities gathered via the remote conference. The ceremony was attended by Professor Jiao Fangtai, Vice President of GDUFS, Professor Li Qing, Chief Secretary of GIIS, Professor Ke Xiaohua, Director of the International Office of GDUFS, and Professor Maria Stoicheva, Vice Rector of Sofia University. Professor Li Qing moderated the event.
Campus EUROASIA Project Summer School
Professor Li Qing, professor Zhong Zuchang with students of the summer school
At the opening ceremony, Vice President Jiao Fangtai congratulated the successful opening of the Campus EUROASIA Project Summer School. He pointed out that, the summer school is an important activity held by GDUFS, the functional base of GIIS, to promote the “Belt and Road” Initiative and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Europe. Besides, president Fang listed previous successful cooperation with Sofia University, and encouraged all students attending the summer school to seize the opportunity and actively participate in it.
Vice President Jiao Fangtai Addressing the Ceremony
Professor Maria Stoicheva, Vice Rector of Sofia University, expressed her appreciation to GDUFS for its trust in Sofia University. She also expressed her expectation to cooperate with GDUFS again this time, and affirmed significance of the summer school in promoting friendly cooperation between China and Europe. Besides, she encouraged all students to ask questions boldly and cooperate with each other.
Vice Rector Maria Stoicheva Addressing the Ceremony
On the first day of the keynote speeches by experts, Professor Maria Stoicheva, Vice President of the University of Sofia and Professor Wang Xiaohai from School of English for International Business delivered keynote addresses.
With the theme of "On the Future of Universities", Professor Maria Stoicheva introduced the higher education in Europe, the deployment of EU external actions, the challenges and trends of EU universities, the goals of EU universities by 2030, friendly cooperation between Sofia University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Guangdong Institute for International Strategies and the impact of technological development and labor market transformation on the employment of students in Europe.
Professor Maria Stoicheva giving a speech
Professor Wang Xiaohai delivered a keynote speech on “From Silk Road to Belt and Road Initiative: Bridging the Gap of Perception between Europe and China Through Intercultural Communication”. He started by his brief understanding of Bulgaria, and then talked about the connection between the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty to introduce topics of silk, the Silk Road and its spirit. He also introduced and clarified the “Belt and Road” initiative and its significance with vivid metaphors, which provoked students’ thought.
Professor Wang Xiaohai making a speech
In Q&A and discussion session, the teachers and students had a lively and in-depth discussion on the topics of the speeches.
Associate Professor Nikolina Tsvetkova answering questions
Professor Zhong Zuchang, deputy secretary-general of GIIS, Dr. Yan Xiaoshan, administrative secretary of GIIS, and Dr. Peng Keming, foreign affairs secretary of GIIS also attended the event.
【Introduction of Campus EUROASIA Project Summer School】
Campus EUROASIA Project is an international multilateral educational cooperation project approved by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), and jointly planned and implemented by Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and seven renowned European institutions (Lancaster University, the UK; Rennes School of Business, France; Istituto Universitario Orientale di NAPOLI, Italy; University of Porto, Portugal; Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria; Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland; Charles University, Czech Republic) in which the partner universities will jointly carry out summer school activities.
The first Summer School of Campus EUROASIA Project will be held in Guangzhou, China, and Sofia, Bulgaria, from July 5th to 9th, 2021, with the theme of “China-Bulgaria (EU) Cooperation and Development”. The Summer School will adopt interactive ways to involve teachers and lecturers, including academic presentations, keynote lectures and group discussions between students and teachers. The lectures and seminars will be given by renowned experts from China and Bulgaria. All activities will be online with English as the working language. Nearly 80 teachers and students from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Sofia University participated the summer school.
