bbn.ee - 6 March (BNS) - The rector of Tallinn University, Rein Raud, flew to China on Saturday to complete the process of establishing a Confucius Institute at Tallinn University that started one and a half years ago.
An agreement with the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing has already been signed and on Tuesday Raud will sign an agreement at the Estonian embassy in the Chinese capital with the new partner university, the Guangxi University in Nanning.
Spokespeople for Tallinn University said the establishment of the Confucius Institute was an important step for the university that will help in the future to further promote the teaching of Chinese language and culture, which already has a long tradition at Tallinn University.
In addition to academic studies of all levels, the institute will offer courses in language, culture and knowledge of Chinese society to everyone interested in these topics. Thanks to the partner university in Nanning, it will be easier and cheaper for Estonian students of Chinese and others to go to China to study the language in the future.
In economic terms the creation of the institute means that China will contribute financially to the institute's work equally with Tallinn University, which definitely will help keep the quality of teaching on a good level and ensure that teaching takes place in necessary volumes, said the rector.
The rector thanked the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research and the Chinese embassy for their help that made the project possible and highlighted the university's close interaction with the Confucius Institute in Helsinki.