On October 29, the signing ceremony of the first enterprise scholarship for international students of Shandong University (SDU) was held in China Eighth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. Meanwhile, “The Internship Base of SDU for International Master Students in Project Management”, established by both sides was officially launched. Chen Zijiang, Vice President of SDU, Li Yongming, Chairman of the Board of the First Company of China Eighth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., and John Rodney Turner, guest professor of SDU and the former chairman of International Project Management Association (IPMA) attended and addressed the ceremony.

According to the agreement, SDU will establish scholarship for excellent international students and provide internship base along with the First Company of China Eighth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., to cultivate a group of local project management talents of high quality, who are familiar with Chinese culture, equipped with the capability to undertake international project management works and can meet the practical needs of the company.

Starting from 2016 and based on the need of business expansion and layout of SDU’s sister universities, the company will offer full scholarship to international students from countries where the company operates its projects, and those from the countries along “the Belt and Road” will enjoy priority in pursuing master’s degrees in International Project Management at SDU.

The company plans to offer 6 students with full scholarship with a total amount of RMB 800,000 yuan in 2016. The scholarship is a key step taken by the university to upgrade the cultivating mode of international students and raise the quality of international talents. The scholarship has filled a blank spot in the field of enterprise scholarship for international students and improved the scholarship system for international students.

With the establishment of the internship base, both sides will deepen their cooperation in targeted enrollment, student cultivation and employment to build the base into a model of combination of industry, university and research as well as mutual benefits. International student representative from Tanzania, officers of the company and, representatives of students and faculties from Department of International Affairs and the School of Management attended the signing and opening ceremony.

SDU has a variety of scholarships for international students, such as the CSC Scholarship, the Confucius Institute Scholarship, the MOFCOM Scholarship, and the Confucius China Studies Plan, etc., which finance nearly 500 students a year. With the development of the scholarship system, SDU will set up President’s Scholarship for prospective international students next year.

Source: The Department of International Affairs