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As Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s continues to advance its activities in China, Senior Communications Officer Craig Leroux  sat down with China Liaison Officer Zhiyao Zhang, who was recently on campus. Dr. Zhang recently received a Governor General ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Medallion for his work promoting Canadian education ties in China.

Craig Leroux: You have been Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s China Liaison Officer since 2007. What does that role entail?

Zhiyao Zhang: My job is to act as a bridge between Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s and China, helping our faculties build academic partnerships and research collaborations, as well as supporting recruitment initiatives and alumni relations. China is one of Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s priority areas internationally and so I’m also working closely with Kathy O’Brien, Associate Vice-Principal, International, to develop a China strategy that will support the comprehensive international plan that is currently in development.

CL: Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s has been very active in China recently, in terms of recruitment, academic programs and research. Are there any projects you would like to highlight?

ZZ: There is a lot of activity on many fronts. The Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s School of Business has a new Master of Finance program with Renmin University, and Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s recently signed a training agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources. We are also working to finalize a joint two-plus-two degree program, in environmental science and biology, with Tongji University in Shanghai. Students would do two years of their degree at Tongji and two years at Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s. It will be our first international two-plus-two program and we are working to finalize the details. The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science is also exploring new joint programs and other initiatives with Chinese institutions.

CL: You mentioned one of your jobs is to promote research collaborations in China. Is there growing interest at Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s in research on China?

I’ve been seeing more and more Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s faculty members interested in working in China. It provides a wonderful laboratory for any field of research, simply because of its population size and its stage of development and growth. There are many issues and questions for researchers to study and there is much interest in China in collaborations with Canadian researchers.

We have been working to help build platforms for research collaboration, such as the , a research partnership with Tongji and involving other Chinese institutions, including Fudan University, also in Shanghai.

CL: Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s also offers many exchange opportunities in China. Do you see those experiences as valuable for students?

ZZ: Yes, absolutely. Even a short time abroad has an eye-opening and inspirational value for students. A good example is Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s program, coordinated by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, in partnership with Fudan. Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s students study at Fudan and, new this year, the program becomes a true exchange with 12 Chinese students coming to study at Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s.

CL: China is currently the largest source of international undergraduate students for Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s. Do you see Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s continuing to be an attractive destination for students?

Canada remains a favoured destination for parents and students and the trend of sending students overseas is not slowing, it ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s growing as the number of families that can afford it also grows. I think Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s offers something special to Chinese students – an exceptional undergraduate education where our faculty members are very accessible to students. I think the relationships Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s has built with top institutions in China will continue to grow and have a positive effect on our reputation and our ability to attract top students.

This article is published in the Sept. 9 edition of the Gazette. Pick up your copy of the newspaper at one of the many locations around campus. Follow us on Twitter at @queensuGazette.