Fantastic opportunity for TY students to take part in Easter Camp in Shanghai

Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Education Senator Jim Darcy, has today welcomed confirmation from the Confucius Institute in University College Cork (UCC) that 80 Transition Year (TY) students will get to travel to the University of Shanghai this Easter to take part in a Chinese language camp.

“I am delighted that this fantastic opportunity is being made available to TY students across the country, and I would encourage all schools across the county to get their applications together as soon as possible before the deadline at the end of this month.

“The two week programme is being jointly organised by the UCC Confucius Institute, the Irish Institute of Chinese Studies (UCC) and Shanghai University, and is being sponsored by the Headquarters of Confucius Institute (Hanban). Successful applicants will take part in a 10-day Chinese language and culture course in Shanghai University. They will also meet with Chinese students, will be brought sightseeing in Shanghai and will be given a unique insight into traditional and modern Chinese culture.

“Chinese is due to be introduced into Irish schools in 2014, and I believe we need to seize every opportunity in the intervening period to strength links between our two countries, and enhance our students’ understanding of Chinese culture. A strong link with China, the world’s second largest economy, will be of huge benefit to Ireland as we emerge from the financial crisis. If we want to maximise this opportunity, we must ensure our school children are being equipped with the necessary languages and skills.

“The closing date for receipt of applications for the Easter Camp has been extended to the end of January, and each school can only have two nominees. Four teachers from the UCC Confucius Institute will be assigned to accompany the success students. I hope that Transition Year schools in Co. Louth have applied for consideration for this worthy project which will bring enormous benefits to the successful applicants”.