As 2013 draws to a close, we review some of the highlights of Oxford’s engagement with China. Two Oxford alumni, Liu Haining and Sabina Liu, look back at the successes of the inaugural Oxford China Lecture in Shanghai and Oxford’s role in the 10,000 Women Initiative in China over the past five years. We celebrate the announcement of the Oxford Kai Feng Scholarships, and also interview Dr Rogier Creemers, co-editor of Oxford’s new blog series, Ox On China. Don’t miss the sneak preview of the exciting programme for the first ever Oxford Alumni Weekend in Asia on 21- 23 March 2014 – we look forward to seeing you next spring!
Oxford’s first Alumni Weekend in Asia will give graduates and friends across the region the opportunity to come together to celebrate your link to the collegiate University, reconnect with each other and hear about the impact of current research. Highlights of the programme will include an engaging session by celebrated science ambassador, Professor Marcus du Sautoy; insights into Oxford’s solutions to some of the world’s most threatening health problems; a lively debate chaired by the Chancellor Lord Patten of Barnes; private viewings of the Bodleian’s Selden Map; a series of college-specific and University-wide social activities, including dinners, sporting activities and more. Bookings open in January.MORE
Hosted by the Oxford University Society Shenzhen, all Oxford alumni in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong are invited to join this new year's celebration. Food and wine will be served. MORE
Launched by the University of Oxford and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, this series aim to provide executive education for senior members of the government, statutory bodies and NGO's in Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia. The programme will cover economics, sustainability, urban planning, social justice, technology policy, and other global issues. This launch ceremony will be officiated by Vice-Chancellors Professor Andrew Hamilton and Professor Tony Chan. MORE
1930
U Salon Private Club, Shenzhen
80 RMB per person
To mark the launch of Merton College’s 750th Anniversary celebrations, Sir Callum McCarthy, Charles Li, and Liu Mingkang, will discuss the Challenges of Global Finance. The moderator of the discussion will be Alejandro Reyes, Managing Partner of the Editors Group, journalist and consultant. All Oxford alumni and other members of the Hong Kong community are welcome to join the talk and reception that follows. MORE
St Catherine’s College will host a special dinner for their Alumni, Parents & Friends living in Asia, with special thanks to Mr Wilfred Wong (1976). This event will run in conjunction with the University’s Inaugural Alumni Weekend in Asia, Meeting Minds. Invitations will be sent in January. To update your email address or register your interest, please contact St Catherine’s College. MORE
18.00-21.00
Asia Society Hong Kong Centre
HK$250 (HK$350 Non-Mertonians)
20.30
The Hong Kong Club
SPOTLIGHT on
OXFORD AND 10,000 WOMEN IN CHINA
Sabina Liu (MBA 2008) looks back at the five years of Oxford's involvement in the 10,00 Women Initiative in China.
One of the graduates of the programme and Elizabeth Paris, Programme Director
For me, nowhere can Oxford’s impact on China be seen more clearly than in the 800 Chinese women entrepreneurs who have successfully completed the two Goldman Sachs10,000women programmes, which the Saïd Business School helped to run in the past five years. I, together with Oxford alumni Cecilia Jiang (MBA 2006), Julia Charlton (Diploma in Organisational Leadership 2008), Arthur Bi (MBA 2005), Ashton Lee (MBA 2007), Andrew Lo (MSc in Management Research 2002)and Steven Luk (MBA 2012) have mentored and grown with the Chinese women entrepreneurs in the programmes during this five-year journey. MORE
ALUMNI encounters
Liu HAINING (St HUGH's 2008), media presenter
Liu Haining talks about being a scholar in the inaugural cohort of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford, her experience with the BBC and hosting the panel discussion at the inaugural Oxford China Lecture.
At the lecture (left to right): Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rayner, Michael Ng, Tang Zilai, Paul Gao and Liu Haining
For nearly a thousand years, it has been the university’s mission to 'lift the fog' over knowledge. This time, it literally ‘lifted’ the smog over Shanghai by bringing together Oxford alumni, government representatives, business and academic leaders from Shanghai and elsewhere in China talk about the future of cities under the joint impact of climate change, new technologies and the trend of urbanisation. I was lucky to be part of the very first Oxford China Lecture. As the chairperson of keynote panel discussion, I had the most dynamic conversation with my panellists, following the lecture given by Professor Steve Rayner from Oxford. Whether and how would cities make our lives better? What can we do to design buildings that fit the needs of tomorrow? MORE
The implications of the global shift to urban living were tackled by Professor Steve Rayner at the launch of the Oxford China Lecture in Shanghai, which was attended by over 400 Oxford alumni, secondary school students, leading government figures, as well as academic and business leaders including Britain’s Ambassador to China. Representatives from the Shanghai Municipal Commissions of Education, Commerce and Government Development Research Centre, the China Executive Leadership Academy, the Shanghai Administrative Institute and Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Institute were also in the audience. WATCH THE LECTURE
Professor Andrew Hamilton was conferred an honorary doctorate of laws by the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 6 December. As a guest of honour at CUHK’s 50th anniversary celebrations, he delivered a keynote speech on the partnership between Universities, Governments and the Community, signed an agreement to strengthen research and training collaboration for disaster and medical humanitarian response, launched the Ashmolean-CUHK Joint Exhibition on the works of Gao Jianfu and Lui Shou-Kwan. For more photos of the rest of his trip to Shanghai and Beijing, click HERE.
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has announced the acquisition of one of the world's most significant collections of modern Chinese art. Some 400 works were bequeathed by Chinese art expert Professor Michael Sullivan, who died in September. Many of the pieces by late 20th Century and contemporary Chinese artists, including significant works by Qi Baishi and Zhang Daqian have never been seen in public. The works will be displayed on rotation at the Ashmolean in a gallery dedicated to Sullivan and his wife Khoan. MORE
Pianist Lang Lang has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by St Peter's College Oxford on 18 November, in recognition of his prodigious talent and his work with young musicians, particularly through the Lang Lang Foundation. As part of the ceremony officiated by the Master Mark Damazer CBE, he also gave a masterclass at the chapel of St Peter's College organised by the Oxford Philomusica. MORE
UNDERCOVER ACADEMIC
Dr RoGIER CREEMERS, RESEARCH FELLOW
Dr Rogier Creemers is a Rubicon Scholar researching Chinese media law and policy at the Programme for Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford. He is also co-editor of the blog series, OxOn China.
Oxford has made the decision to invest heavily in China-related efforts, most notably in the new China Centre, which will be the largest of its kind in Europe. The OxOn China blog, which I edited, is a pilot project to find out how we can translate academic insights for a broader audience. So far, it has been relatively successful, with some of the pieces having been reprinted in rather prestigious places with a large readership. We are currently considering how to continue and expand this when the China Centre formally opens. But more can be done, I would be quite keen to explore ways to further engage with Chinese intellectuals, academics, policymakers, and so on. It seems to me that the dialogue must happen at many different levels, and that universities can play a key role in this. MORE
OXFORD THINKING CAMPAIGN UPDATE
THE OXFORD KAI FENG SCHOLARSHIPS
Ms Whitney Duan, Chair of the Kai Feng Foundation at the signing ceremony in Oxford with the Vice-Chancellor
Scholarship support for both undergraduate and graduate programmes is a key pillar of the Oxford Thinking Campaign. Kai Feng Foundation, a leading foundation based in Beijing, has written a new chapter in the support of Chinese students at Oxford. The newly established Oxford Kai Feng Scholarships at Oxford will offer two scholarships per year for master programmes, with the vision to cultivate future leaders in different fields in China. Scholarships will be awarded to applicants commencing their studies in 2014, and eligible programmes include international relations, law, economics, finance, public policy and art history. The Scholarships were created in a signing ceremony at Oxford in November, and will create a £2.5 million endowment for student support. Oxford has a growing number of scholarships for students from China, including those found in this website. For more information about the Oxford Thinking Campaign, visit www.campaign.ox.ac.uk.
The University of Oxford China Office is a branch office of the University Of Oxford. It works together with volunteer organizations across Greater China and the rest of Asia to foster connections between the collegiate university and the alumni living in the region.
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