The Area Study Centre far East and Southeast Asia at the University of Sindh organised a seminar on “Exploring Chinese Language Scholarships and Students Exchange Programme”. The seminar was presided over by University of Sindh Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Marri (TI).

Held at the Pir Hussamuddin Rashdi Auditorium of the Institute of Sindhology, the seminar featured Prof Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan, Director of the Pakistan Institute of China Studies at the University of Sargodha, as the keynote speaker. Other speakers included Muhammad Azeem Ahmed Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Modern Languages, and Dr Shah Murad Chandio, Associate Professor at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Sindh, and a renowned writer.

The event began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by the national anthems of Pakistan and China.

Addressing the ceremony, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Marri said that  China and Pakistan are close friends and that their 75-year-old friendship has remained exemplary worldwide.

He said China was a rapidly developing country and that the secret behind its development was the hard work of its people and their complete focus on their work. Giving an example, he said that if one visited any industry in China, 90 per cent of the workers could be seen so engrossed in their work that they would not even look up at visitors. He said such dedication and commitment were essential for the development of any country or institution.

The Vice Chancellor said China was competing for the number-one position in the world in technology and the economy, while its products were rapidly gaining dominance in international markets. In such a situation, he said, the importance of learning the Chinese language had increased significantly.

He said learning Chinese could provide not only ample opportunities for higher education through scholarships in China but also excellent employment opportunities in the region and across the world.

The Vice Chancellor said the University of Sindh had established linkages with important Chinese universities, under which its students and faculty members continued to have scholarship opportunities. He said efforts were also being made to secure internship and training opportunities for students in China so that they could benefit in terms of their careers. For this purpose, he said, knowledge of the Chinese language was essential.

He said learning Chinese, or the language of any country, made it easier to understand its culture and benefit from available opportunities. He said this was also the purpose behind launching the Chinese language programme at the University of Sindh.

He added that, alongside Chinese, programmes in French, German and other languages were also being introduced to provide students with maximum opportunities to enhance their skills.

The Vice Chancellor appreciated the efforts of the Director of the Area Study Centre and her team and expressed the hope that the programme would prove beneficial for the future of students.

Speaking on the occasion, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof Dr Nanik Ram said that the importance of China in the region had increased following the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said learning the Chinese language could open doors to scholarships and opportunities to work with China. He said Chinese companies operating in Pakistan had a great need for translators and offered good salary packages.

Earlier, Director, Area Study Centre, Dr Ishrat Afshan Abbasi welcomed the guests in her introductory address, thanked the Vice Chancellor for his cooperation and encouragement, and highlighted the objectives of the seminar. She said Chinese language classes were commencing that day and that 40 students had so far enrolled in the programme.

Special speaker Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan, speaking online via video link, said the importance of the Chinese language was increasing day by day across the world. He said those who knew the language had a bright future and numerous opportunities to advance.

He said no language in the world was difficult and that it only required focused learning. Citing his own example, he said that when he had gone to China for his PhD several years ago, he did not know even a single word of Chinese, whereas today he delivered lectures in the Chinese language.

He said numerous scholarship opportunities at top-ranked Chinese universities were advertised on the Higher Education Commission (HEC) website and students should take advantage of them. He congratulated the Vice Chancellor and his team on launching the Chinese language teaching programme at the University of Sindh and assured them of his full cooperation in this regard.

Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Azeem Ahmed Ansari said Chinese was a 6,000-year-old language. He said China was a country offering extensive opportunities through its higher education institutions and announced hundreds of thousands of scholarships every year, more than half of which remained vacant. Therefore, he said, greater awareness of these opportunities was needed.

He said China offered free education under its scholarship programmes, along with free accommodation and food expenses of up to Rs100,000 to Rs150,000.

He said the six-month Chinese language course at the University of Sindh would cover HSK 1 and HSK 2 levels, after which students would acquire considerable proficiency in the Chinese language.

He said the Sindh Education Department wanted to introduce Chinese as a subject in 8,000 of its schools but there were currently no teachers available for the purpose. He said the Chinese language programme would provide students with significant benefits for their careers.

Addressing the seminar, Dr Shah Murad Chandio said that in today's globalised world, nothing remained local and people should benefit from modern technology to enhance their skills.

He said China was a major donor in terms of scholarships and offered millions of scholarship opportunities to people across the world. However, he said, the number of Pakistanis, particularly people from Sindh, benefiting from these opportunities was very low. He added that awareness seminars and language-learning programmes could help increase this number.

At the conclusion, Assistant Professor at the Area Study Centre and Convener of the Chinese Language Learning Programme Dr Ronaque Ali Behan thanked all the participants.

The event was compered by Shaima Jatoi, a student of the University’s Department of International Relations.

Faculty members from the Area Study Centre, including Dr Mukesh Kumar Khatwani, Dr Nuareen Munaf and Dr Majid Ali Noonari, also attended the seminar.