Maseru, Aug.21—With less than a year of its establishment, the National University of Lesotho Confucius Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (NUL-CIAST) is reaping the benefits as on Thursday 11 students were awarded Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC)-Silk Road scholarship to pursue their master’s program at the event held in Roma.
The event also marked the pre-travel training Chinese language training course closure and send-off ceremony as well as welcoming of new Chinese teachers under the theme: “Strengthening developmental ties through education and culture”.
The beneficiaries are from the Faculties of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Health Sciences (Nutrition Department) and Social Sciences and they are going to study Food Science, Agricultural Economics and Animal Science with Jilin Agricultural University and Tonghua Normal University in China.
The NUL-CIAST is a collaborative initiative with the above-mentioned Chinese universities. Its key role is to serve as a platform for collaborative research between NUL and Chinese universities, facilitating joint projects in agriculture and technology transfer.
In his remarks, NUL Vice-Chancellor Professor Isaac Fajana said this marks another significant milestone between the university and the Chinese counterparts. He said from language learning, cultural exchange to academic growth.
“We celebrate another chapter as students prepare to immerse themselves in culture and academic journey”, he said.
To the students, Professor Fajana encouraged them to be open-minded, curious and build relationships while at the same time working hard to bring back knowledge that would benefit not only NUL but the entire Basotho nation.
He expressed sincere gratitude to the Chinese Embassy and the Confucius Institute saying he hopes this opportunity gets better and better.
At the same event, Chinese Embassy Counsellor Lu Hui warmly congratulated the 11 NUL graduates who have been awarded the Silk Road Scholarship this year and will soon leave for China. He said he knows Mandarin can be a tough language to pick up hence There’s an ancient Chinese saying: “The sea of learning is boundless. Only perseverance is the vessel to reach the shore.”
Therefore, said mastering Mandarin may be the first challenge in their academic journey in China. However, he said he believes that they will not only master the Chinese language but also excel in all their academic pursuits there…AT/BM
