A delegation from the University of Electronic Science and Technology (UESTC), China, led by Prof. Zhao Shurong, has called on the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, at the University.

The Chinese University,which has an existing collaboration with the University of Cape Coast (UCC), is looking at the possibility of establishing a Centre of Excellence for West Africa in Ghana. Currently, two masters and one Ph.D student from UCC are studying in China with sponsorship from the UESTC. Efforts are now being made to expand the collaboration to include other areas.

The leader of the Chinese delegation, Prof. Zhao Shurong said the Chinese government has envisioned to establish a top class university comparable to any of the top-notch ones in the world. Prof. Zhao indicated their readiness to increase the number of students being offered scholarship to further their education in China to demonstrate their commitment to the collaboration.

She said, she believed the collaboration would help build the capacity of both students and staff of the University. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ampiah, in his response, noted that the vision enumerated coincided with that of his for the University, therefore it was possible to develop a good collaboration with the Chinese partners.

Prof. Ampiah was particularly happy that memorandum of understanding was already in place to facilitate the relationship between the two universities. Regarding the cultural training, Prof. Ampiah said UCC has a Confucius Institute, which was ready to go to the secondary schools to introduce both the Chinese language and culture.

The Vice-Chancellor told the Chinese team that Cape Coast and its environs has a lot of in terms of culture like the castles, Kakum National Park and festivals,which could be of immense help for the cultural exchange programme.

He commended the University of Electronics Science and Technology for offering scholarships to students of the University of Cape Coast to further their education at the graduate level. Present at the ceremony were the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro; Registrar, Mr. John Kofi Nyan; the Dean, Centre for International Education, (CIE) Prof. Rosemond Boohene; Director, Public Affairs, Major (retd.) Kofi Baah-Bentum and Junior Assistant Registrar, (CIE) Mr. Alfred Ghartey.