The recipients of the 2016 Education UK Alumni Awards in China were announced at an awards ceremony hosted by the British Council on the evening of 19 March. Three UK alumni from China were recognised for their outstanding achievements as business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders, and for their important contributions to strengthening ties between the UK and China.

After months of searching, nine finalists were selected from a global pool of more than 800 applicants, many of whom were nominated by their host UK universities. Following in-depth interviews with a judging panel, the Chinese recipients were chosen for three award categories: Professional Achievement, Entrepreneurial, and Social Impact.

The Professional Achievement Award, which recognises alumni who have distinguished themselves through exemplary leadership and achievements in their professional field, was presented to Ms LING Yifan. Since graduating from Birmingham City University, Ms Ling has established herself as an award-winning comic artist under the pen name “Buddy”, and is best known for her online manga story ‘Guarding’, which has more than 100 million online readers.

The Social Impact Award, for alumni who have made an exceptional contribution to creating positive social change and improving the lives of others, was presented to Mr ZHENG Jianwei, who has a master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the University of Essex. Mr Zheng, who is visually-impaired, works as a private English tutor and is a strong promoter of inclusivity.

The Entrepreneurial Award, for alumni who have launched innovative business ideas, was presented to Mr XIAO Dun. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, Mr Xiao co-founded Dun & Huang, one of the earliest education app development companies in China, and the online homework platform 17zuoye.com, which provides learning solutions to more than 15 million students across 50,000 schools in China.

Upon receiving the award, Mr Xiao said: “My parents could have given me a house, a car, or some money; but they gave me the opportunity to study in the UK, and that was priceless.”

Carma Elliot CMG OBE, Minister (Culture and Education), British Embassy Beijing, and Director, British Council China, said:
“The remarkable young people we heard about tonight have taken their UK education as a starting point to excel in many fields, and to share their passion for learning with those around them. This year’s awards ceremony was testimony to the diversity of UK alumni and the transformative impact of a UK education. These alumni are a credit to their universities and an inspiration to international students. With more than 600,000 Chinese alumni of a UK education back here in China, we have a lot to celebrate.”

Now in its second year, the global award, launched by the British Council in 2015, recognises the success of UK alumni all over the world. Due to the large number of Chinese students in the UK – more than 140,000 – China was one of the first countries to be included in the award, which has since grown to cover a total of ten countries, including the US, India, and Brazil. Ms Zhang Xin, CEO of SOHO China, is the British Council’s UK Alumni Ambassador for China and a strong supporter of the event.