Opening-up is the motto of centennial institution

With the success of the IAUP/AUAP Internationalization of Higher Education Forum held at Henan University and the celebration of Henan University's 100th anniversary, the school's achievement and practices in international education has been put under the spotlight.

Formerly known as the Preparatory School for Further Study in Europe and America, Henan University was founded in 1912 in Kaifeng, Henan province, as one of the three earliest schools preparing students for overseas study at the beginning of 20th century, along with Nanyang Public School in Shanghai (now Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and Tsinghua Xuetang in Beijing (now Tsinghua University).

Since the very beginning of its creation, the school has chosen to open to the outside world and to forge ahead with international education.

Lin Boxiang, founder of the Henan Preparatory School for Further Study in Europe and America, who had seen a huge gap between the education in Henan and that of coastal provinces shortly after the abolition of imperial examinations, could not wait to make urgent appeals for the establishment of new type of schools that offered advanced Western education.

By hiring foreign teachers and introducing Western curriculums and teaching materials, Henan Preparatory School for Further Study in Europe and America became a base for inland student to study abroad.

Zhao Jiuzhang, a famous scientist and meteorologist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was enrolled in the school in 1921. The intense academic atmosphere and English teaching class gave him a solid foundation for his future remarkable achievements.

After years of study at Berlin University in Germany under professor H. Von Ficker, he came back and worked on Chinese manmade satellites, greatly contributing to China's first manmade satellite, Dongfanghong 1.

The international education of Henan University has come to a new stage since China carried out the reform and opening-up.

Foreign expert giving lecture in 1950s.

In the early 1980s, Li Runtian, the then-president of Henan University, led a delegation to the United States for the first time, providing a new way for the school's international exchanges and education cooperation.

Guan Aihe, Party secretary of Henan University, said that although the school's names have changed several times, its tradition of fostering talents and opening to the world has never changed.

Lou Yuangong, president of Henan University, said that the university will make full use of the platform of the International Association of University Presidents and the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific, and get more financial support for a variety of international academic exchanges and cooperation.

On June 20, 2002, Henan University signed an agreement on cooperative education with CIE International Education Group of the United Kingdom, making a historical breakthrough in a cooperative running of the schools.

On Aug 16, 2002, the International Education Center of Henan University, the first comprehensive international education center among all schools in Henan province, was established, and dedicated itself to cultivating foreign-exchange students and domestic students in pursuit of further study overseas, a process that speeds up the internationalization of cooperative education.

The International Education College of Henan University was set up afterward and worked with St. Petersburg University of Russia, Victoria University of Australia, and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences of Germany, with a total 9,320 students.

Chang Cheng, Wang Huixian and Fu Xiaoke contributed to this story.

(China Daily 09/28/2012 page18)