Six vice-presidents from Chinese college, technical and vocational schools are spending two weeks in Prince George learning about Canada's post-secondary education system.
The College of New Caledonia is one of five Canadian colleges hosting a Chinese delegation as part of the Vocational Education Leadership Training Program by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Delegation leader Wen Jinxiang, vice president of Yantai Vocational College, said the demand for post-secondary education in China is growing rapidly and the country is looking at how other countries deliver education services.
"As we all know, Canada is very successful in vocational education, so we come here to learn and exchange," Wen said, via a translator. "Also to let you know things about education in China."
The delegates will spend a total of one month in Canada learning and exchanging ideas, he said. The first week the five groups spent together in Vancouver receiving an overview of the Canadian education system, Wen said.
The five-year program by the Chinese Ministry of Education has included delegations to the United States, Germany and Australia. Delegates will visit colleges in Singapore and the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013.
College of New Caledonia president John Bowman said the two weeks will be an opportunity to build partnerships with the six Chinese schools.
"Already we have many students that come to Prince George from China," Bowman said. "We hope to see where there is good matches where we can see more students from CNC go to China, and students from China come to CNC."
The college has worked cooperatively with Zhejiang Forestry University, Beijing Founders University and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautic. However, Bowman said, to date the college has not established any partnerships with Chinese trade or technical colleges.
"We can learn a lot from our friends and colleagues from colleges in China," Bowman said.
Shunde Polytechnic vice-president Chen Susong said the two-week visit will allow the delegation to get an in-depth understanding of Canadian methodology.
"We would like to have a better and deeper understanding of what we learned in the first week," Chen said via translator. "We have had an opportunity to see in person how the labs and classrooms are done. We have seen some similarities we can share."
Ningbo Polytechnic vice president Qi Xiaoping said she was impressed by the strong role of women in education and leadership in Canada.
"In China women enjoy higher social status than in the past," Qi said via translator. "I was impress by how Canadian people show respect for women."
The other Chinese schools represented are Changchun Vocational Institute of Technology, JuiJiang Vocational and Technical College and Qinghai Vocational and Technical College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science.
