Educators Delegation to China

October 23 - 29, 2023: Ms. Irum Iqbal, Lecturer and Program Director for BS SSLA, travelled to China in the last week of October to participate in an Educators Delegation hosted by the Sichuan Normal University (SICNU) for universities in Pakistan where Chinese language is taught. The week-long trip, arranged on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of SICNU Confucius Institutes in Pakistan, comprised meetings with the leaderships of Sichuan Normal University, Experimental Foreign Language School, and the Chengdu Polytechnic.

The purpose of the trip was to discuss collaboration opportunities through which Chinese language teaching in Pakistan can be promoted and enhanced, and ties between Pakistani and Chinese universities further strengthened. Participating universities included IBA, University of Karachi (UoK), NED University, and Cadet College Petaro, and the delegation was led by the Vice Chancellor of Karachi University, Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi.  

Other than official meetings, the group was taken on a trip to several significant sites in the city, including the Sanxingdui Museum, the Sichuan Opera, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and Chengdu Panda Reserve. Mr. Zhang Xiaoping, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute SICNU, graciously accompanied the delegation and arranged for them to get a taste of the culture, cuisine, and creative recreations the city of Chengdu had to offer.

IBA thanks Mr. Xiaoping and SICNU for being wonderful hosts to the educators and looks forward to collaborating with Confucius Institutes in China and Pakistan to create opportunities for our students, particularly those learning Chinese. We are also grateful to Dr. Nasir uddin Khan, Pakistani Director of the Confucius Institute at UoK, for extending the invitation to our university and facilitating the arrangements for this trip.