Helen Deng

SHENZHEN University, which is attracting an increasing number of students from abroad every year, plans to open a college for international exchange programs next year, university officials said yesterday.

The university enrolled about 1,000 students from 44 countries and regions this year, the second-largest number for a Guangdong university. Its population of international students ranks second only to Jinan University in Guangzhou, which is mainly for overseas Chinese, said Ruan Shuangchen, vice president of Shenzhen University.

Most of the international students at Shenzhen University are from South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia, where there are many Chinese companies and a huge demand for professionals with Chinese language skills, he said.

Chao Weiwei, dean of the university’s Department of International Students, expects the number of international students to increase by at least 30 percent in the next four years. “We plan to upgrade the department to a college for international exchange programs in 2007,” he said.

Shenzhen University is attractive to international students for a number of reasons, according to Ruan. It boasts qualified staff, with a significant proportion of professors having a doctor’s degree or an international academic background. It is located within the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, whose residents come from different parts of China, enabling international students to get a full picture of the country. The university charges US$2,000 a year for international students, lower than most universities in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Most of the international students at the university are taking language courses. The university organizes sightseeing tours, parties and Chinese corners for them. It plans to hold a big party for international students in the province during the Spring Festival in 2007.

Ruan acknowledged that the university still lags far behind prestigious foreign universities in terms of the number of foreign students, saying that international students should account for 20 percent of the total student population at a truly international university. “We will continue to improve teaching and living conditions of international students, and hold more promotions to attract international students to our school,” he said.

The university is the only examination center for the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) or the Chinese Proficiency Test. It will be accepting applications for this year’s HSK test from Nov. 1 through Nov. 11, excluding Sundays. Last year, the university received nearly 500 applications for the HSK test.

Shenzhen University is also expanding its foreign teaching staff, and this year the university has 24 ful-time foreign teachers, most of whom teaching foreign languages. Asked about the university’s requirements for foreign teachers, Ruan said the teachers are required to have college teaching experience, a master’s degree at least, and a good understanding of Chinese morals and culture.

“We don’t offer higher salaries to foreign teachers than inland universities do, but still we have lots of applicants, because of our good environments, proximity to Hong Kong, and students with high English levels,” said Ruan, adding that the university would invite more foreign professors and scholars to the university to give lectures or be full-time teachers.

Shenzhen University has several joint education programs with foreign universities, especially universities in the U.K.

While in the past the program only attracted students unable to enter a mainland college, the competition for the program has become so intense that there are at least 200 applicants now for a course with 60 seats, according to Chao.