BCCIE and the Beijing International Education Exchange Center (BIEE) signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Monday, November 28 in Vancouver, BC. BCCIE’s Executive Director Dr. Randall Martin and BIEE’s Director General Mr. Tiangang Gu gathered at BCCIE’s Vancouver office for the event. 

“We are delighted to renew our long-standing relationship with BIEE, the international arm of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission. This relationship has been a strong platform for the creation of bilateral institutional partnerships at both the K-12 and the post-secondary levels and has also provided opportunity for hundreds of BC high school students to experience China for the first time,” said Dr. Martin. 

Goals for cooperation 

The MOU outlines several objectives, not least of which is to increase the two-way flow of students and teachers between BC and Beijing. Other objectives include facilitating delegations in both regions and strengthening the quality of English language instruction in Beijing and Chinese language instruction in BC. 

BIEE and BCCIE have a strong track record in promoting student exchange. One example of this is through the Beijing International Student Summer Camp where students from BC and over 20 countries unite in Beijing each July for an educational immersion program; similarly, high school students from Beijing are welcomed each year to BC for a summer camp.

It is expected that this new MOU agreement will build on these initiatives and plant the seed for new ones.