The second cohort of UK scholars and interns arriving in China on the British Council’s Generation UK programme was welcomed at special receptions held in the British Centre in Shanghai and the British Ambassador’s Residence in Beijing before the Chinese National Day holiday. The events brought together UK alumni and local business professionals to celebrate the growing number of young people from the UK engaging with China through academic study and internships.
Generation UK was launched in 2013 to encourage and support student mobility to China. It aims to see at least 80,000 UK students participate in academic study or internships in China by 2020, shaping a new generation of more globally, culturally and business aware young people.
Speaking at the Beijing reception, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to China Sir Sebastian Wood congratulated the students on making a strategic decision. “By choosing to study Chinese, which is emerging as a central language in the global economy, you are acquiring a skill that could shape your entire life.”