The Confucius Institute at University of the Bahamas (CIUB), officially launched in 2009, advances UB’s mission to promote values of learning, publicly engaged scholarship, and service.  CIUB is the only official Chinese proficiency test centre in The Bahamas designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education. CIUB educates UB students and local communities about Chinese language, culture and society.  In addition to an array of Chinese language course offerings, CIUB promotes contemporary China by holding numerous public lectures, workshops and occasional cultural performances.

Each year, with the generous support of the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), UB students and faculty have the opportunity to travel to China for language and cultural exchanges at CIUB’s partner institution, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST).  CIUB’s partnership with NUIST also facilitates various long-term student and faculty academic exchanges.  Since 2012, more than a dozen UB students with the help of CIUB successfully applied for Confucius Institute full scholarships, which cover one-year intensive language and culture study at NUIST. Since its inception, CIUB has taught Mandarin to hundreds of UB students, faculty and staff and members of the wider community which include students via established links with local schools such as Doris Johnson High School and St. Andrews. Hundreds of Bahamians have sat, and more than 90% have passed, official Chinese proficiency tests hosted by CIUB.

CIUB will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2019 and looks forward to many more successful milestones as it contributes to a better mutual understanding between The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China.

 

For additional information contact:
Dr. Abdul Knowles
Phone: (242) 397-2261
E-mail: abdul.knowles@ub.edu.bs