On 21 March 2023, Sherry Fu, Director of University of Manchester China Centre and Crystal Cheng, Senior Marketing Officer of the UoM China Centre visited Dipont School of Arts and Science in Hangzhou (formerly known as RDFZ King’s College School Hangzhou) and had a constructive meeting with Stephen Keown, Executive Principal of the school, and Dior Sun, Deputy Head of Bilingual School G1-3. Jiří “George” Kaspar, Head of Senior School CCA, who is currently pursuing UoM’s MA Educational Leadership in Practice (ELiP) course coordinated the visit.

Campus view of Hangzhou Dipont School of Arts and Science

Accompanied by Ms. Florence Huang, the University Counselling Coordinator of the school, Kaspar took China Centre delegates on a tour of the campus. During the tour, Kaspar showcased the school's diverse range of co-curricular Programme and highlighted the performance of university admission of their high school students. He mentioned that approximately half of the graduates were admitted to universities in the UK, with The University of Manchester being one of the most popular choices.

Exhibition Board of the co-curricular activities at RKCS

The team from UoM China Centre also had a meeting with the school’s leadership team. During the meeting, Sherry presented an overview of the University and the China Centre, while Crystal introduced UoM’s ELiP course, which is tailored for international educators in China. After the introduction, Sherry Fu extended an invitation to Mr. Keown and Ms. Sun to present as guest speakers, sharing their professional insights on educational leadership for ELiP students in future face-to-face conferences. The sharing will provide local perspectives for the course content delivered by world-leading academics from UoM.

Stephen Keown, Sherry Fu, Dior Sun and Jiří Kaspar (from left to right)

In addition to the interest of developing a partnership with China Centre, Mr. Keown offered China Centre to form an educator delegation to visit the school again, with the aim of further strengthening communication and collaboration in international education.

The visit was a successful step towards building stronger ties. UoM China Centre is committed to integrating local resources and developing partnerships in the region, providing a dynamic platform and greater opportunities for the local community of students and alumni.