The University of Alberta is situated in Edmonton, the capital city of the province of Alberta in Western Canada. The University is well-known among Chinese people not only because of its beautiful scenery, but also its distinguished academic Faculties and inspiring study environment. What attracts Chinese students the most to this university are the close relations between China and Canada. The University of Alberta acts as an educational bridge between the two countries.

Currently, the University of Alberta offers programs with 16 Chinese universities and many government institutions, including Peking University and Tsinghua University.

Ms. Britta Baron, the University’s International Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, said “We pay so much attention to China because of our university’s tradition.”

The first Chinese student matriculated in the University in the late 1970s. “Chinese students have even become part of the University’s culture,” Ms. Baron added. Now there are 70 Chinese-origin professors working for the University, making up 5 percent of the University’s faculty.

Increasing numbers of Chinese students are applying for further study at the University of Alberta every year.

Dr. Lihong Yang, Associate Director of International Relations, said, “In the past, Chinese students were always regarded as smart and intelligent, but not as active in campus life compared with local students. But nowadays they are different. They know they should be involved with the whole society and not only in their studies.”

According to Dr. Yang, Chinese students participate actively in the University community and China is also a popular subject of study. Interestingly, more than 600 students have chosen Chinese as their major at the University of Alberta.

Ms. Baron said, “We offer many programs for Chinese government institutions and enterprises, such as Ministry of Finance of China, the Government of Heilongjiang, and Shengli Oil Field Corp., a large state-owned enterprise. We help them train their staff with the specific knowledge they need.” It is through these types of programs that the University builds close relations with China.

This positive relationship resulted in the establishment of the University of Alberta’s China Institute in 2006. “We hope that more Chinese students will choose our University,” Ms. Baron said.