The 3rd DUFL Study Abroad Fair started on the morning of Sept 7th, 2018 with guests from Invest Northern Ireland, the International University of Kagoshima, and Queen’s University Belfast present at the opening ceremony. Also present were President Liu Hong, Vice President Jiang Fengchun and heads from relevant departments and offices.

Extending gratitude and welcome to the foreign guests, Vice President Jiang Fengchun stated in his opening speech that understanding internationalization is an important part in the development of universities all around the world, Dalian University of Foreign Languages (DUFL), the only public foreign language university in Northeast China, has firmly followed the path of international development ever since its establishment. Dedicated to serving national strategy and local economy, DUFL has always followed the top universities’ five-in-one principle of “integrating teaching, academic research, contributing to society, cultural inheritance and innovation and the international exchange and cooperation.”

DUFL Study Abroad Fair was launched in 2016 and the past two years has witnessed inspiring results in the number of international exchange programs, the number of exchange teachers and students, the construction of foreign teachers’ team, and the lectures given by foreign experts.

Starting from this year, DUFL has decided to extend the fair from a week to a month in order to further improve the quality of international education and better integrate international resources into our talent training system to achieve three goals. First, with the fair arranged at the beginning of the new academic year, it is hoped that our students grasp the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of international education, and learn about global resources and platforms earlier so as to make preparations for participation in various international educational projects.Second, with some new activities such as creative workshops, international academic conferences added, it is hoped that we can further strengthen the in-depth cooperation with partner colleges and universities, and promote the exchange of academic and scientific research between the two sides in related fields. Third, with the cultivation of international talents as our major goal for our talent training system, it is hoped that all departments and relevant administration offices can grasp this precious opportunity to consolidate the concept of international development and explore the measures with foreign partners to transform effectively international educational resources into talent training resources.

President Tsumagari Sadatoshi of International University of Kagoshima and Professor Michael Alcorn from Queen's University Belfast delivered speeches on behalf of the foreign institutions. The former expressed gratitude and respect to DUFL for its active role and practical spirit in many fields of international development and especially international education. In the speech Tsumagari Sadatoshi reviewed the long history of cooperation between the two universities and the remarkable achievements gained in exchanges and said that with the rapid development of information network and the deepening of globalization, there is a greater need for talents with international vision for the world’s social and economic development and that universities are the very places for the young people to learn from each other and to strive together for a better world.

Professor Michael Alcorn emphasized the importance of international communication in today’s world with a closer contact and cooperation between countries. He said that as DUFL’s new friend, Queen's University Belfast hopes to establish a closer partnership with DUFL in all aspects from now on and that it welcomes teachers and students from DUFL to teach and study in Britain so as to promote the communication and exchange of higher education and the young talents from two countries, as well as to enhance the vigorous advancement of international education.

At the end of the opening ceremony, the leaders of DUFL and the foreign guests poured the sand representing foreign partner schools into the sand tray symbolizing exchange and cooperation, expressing the good will to draw a new blueprint of openness, integration and win-win cooperation together.

A series of activities will be carried out from September 1st to 30th including the creative workshops, international academic conferences, university promotion activities, experience sharing sessions, international exchange meetings and cultural exchanges. DUFL will work hard to develop the Study Abroad Fair into an important and characteristic platform for the cooperation and exchange between Chinese and foreign educational institutions so as to seek new opportunities for foreign cooperation, strengthen talent cultivation, expand the exchanges and improve the quality of cooperation. (Hu Xinran)