Victoria Intercultural Leadership Course for Peking University
Victoria University hosted a group of 17 students from Peking University (PKU), widely regarded as China‘s top university.
The students took part in a month-long intercultural leadership summer course with students from the Victoria International Leadership Programme (VILP). The summer course was the first of its kind to be offered by a New Zealand institution—and comments from the students as well as the lecturers involved suggest it was a definite success.
The 17 PKU students participated in interactive seminars and other activities facilitated by a number of Victoria staff members. Presenters included Tony Browne, former New Zealand Ambassador to China and Executive Chair of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre; Associate Professor Winnie Laban, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika); Professor Rob Rabel, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International); Dr Peter Adds, Head of Te Kawa a Māui; and Dr Adrian Macey, former New Zealand Climate Change Ambassador and School of Government Senior Associate.
Dr Marc Lanteigne from the Political Science & International Relations Programme was the academic coordinator for the course. He presented on topics related to security issues and economic cooperation within the Asia-Pacific region as well as facilitating an APEC Forum simulation. Other seminars included topics related to social policy, inequality, climate change and technology, cross-cultural communication, global leadership and global interdependence.
The PKU students also hosted a Chinese New Year‘s dinner at Te Puni Village, their residence for the month. They showed considerable initiative in producing delicious traditional dishes by sourcing ingredients from local Chinese restaurants. The students also managed to visit both Rotorua and Queenstown during their stay, as well as take in some of the best activities Wellington has to offer: a visit to the Beehive and Te Papa, the Weta Cave, Sunday markets, and much more.
The summer course was a culturally enriching experience for all involved. One of the VILP students, Tony Fiddis, who will go to PKU on exchange this trimester, commented on how valuable an experience it was to meet some of China‘s top young leaders and to engage in discussions around global themes.
The Vice-Chancellor will be visiting Peking University in early March to reciprocate a visit to Victoria by their President last November when student and staff exchange agreements were renewed. Victoria is PKU‘s longest standing New Zealand university partner, with the partnership dating back to the 1980s. As well as having reciprocal funding to support academic staff and student exchanges, Victoria is the only university in New Zealand to have a double degree arrangement with PKU involving our Master of International Relations and their Master of Public Policy supported by the James Bertram Scholarship.