Xinjiang China: China looks for the stronger presence of Bangladeshi students in their world-class universities to pursue education in career-oriented subjects to smartly compete in the global job market.

Xinjiang University is one of the universities in China that welcomes students from Bangladesh, reports the UNB.

‘We want to see more students from Bangladesh as we peruse One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative to strengthen ties on all fronts,’ Director of the International Cultural Exchange College of the Xinjiang University Prof Jiao Jian told UNB at his office.

He said they give priority to students from neighbouring countries, too. ‘We’ve over 30,000 students at the university and 500 of them are international students.’

Jian said they will always give importance to Bangladeshi students considering the deep relations between Bangladesh and China. ‘Bangladeshi students can avail themselves of three types of full scholarship here, including Chinese government scholarships and the university’s own scholarship,’ the Director explained.

Vice Director and Associate Professor of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges Wang Kui said they have a plan to establish partnership with Bangladeshi prominent universities to strengthen ties in education sector.

‘We mainly want partnership with famous public universities in Bangladesh. If there’re very famous private universities, we’ll try to see whether we can go for partnership with them,’ she told UNB.

The Vice Director also said they have students from the USA, the UK, Russia, Japan and its neighbouring countries. ‘However, we’ve very few students from Bangladesh.’

Responding to a query, she said weather is one of the reasons behind the lower number of students from Bangladesh.

‘We’ve very different weather with very long winter,’ she said adding that lack of much knowledge about the quality of Chinese Universities might be another reason.

Khan Nazrul Islam, one of the Bangladeshi students, said the education system is much more career-oriented one here having deep engagement with practical works. ‘We had a very limited scope for practical learning at graduation level back in Bangladesh. I’m doing MBA here but now I understand the importance of practical knowledge,’ he said.

Nazrul said they are very close to teachers and it helps them interact instantly with the teachers about any critical topics.

Another Bangladeshi student, Abid Hossain Shawon, said this university provides a very high-quality education system.

‘I can understand the difference. We feel we’re at home if we consider the caring attitude our teachers towards us.’

Abid mentioned that if more students from Bangladesh come to study here they will greatly be benefited at the end.

‘The scholarship facilities are very lucrative, too,’ he said.

Wang Kui said the Xinjiang University, established in 1924, has a long glorious history.

Earlier, a 12-member Bangladesh media delegation visited different sections of the university when teachers shared its history with them.

Director (News), Bangladesh Betar, Hosne Ara Talukder is leading the Bangladesh media team.