A delegation from Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China visited Invercargill this week and included Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) in its schedule to connect with Chinese students and meet with SIT management.
Deputy Consul General, Mr Xu Haiyuan, Dean, Ms Zhu Yu and Vice Consul, Ms Cui Pengwei, were in Invercargill on Monday morning to provide consular service to local Chinese citizens at the Ministry of Education building, then visited SIT in the afternoon.
SIT International Marketing Manager, Michelle Zhao, said the annual visit provides an opportunity for the embassy to connect with its citizens living in Southland so they don’t have to travel to Christchurch for the consular service, and it made good sense to include SIT with currently around 60 Chinese students studying at the Invercargill campus.
“We have a good relationship with the Chinese Consulate,” Ms Zhao said. “They check in with the students to see if they’re happy here,” adding that the Deputy Consul General hadn’t been to Invercargill or Southland before, and it presented an opportunity for all three of the consulate staff to have their first visit to SIT.
The delegation met with SIT Operations Lead, Daryl Haggerty, and Acting International Manager, Dr Teri McClelland, where they exchanged gifts and briefly discussed further developing partner relationships with Chinese universities for the purpose of student exchanges.
“It was a pleasure to meet with the Deputy Consul and colleagues,” Dr McClelland said, adding “we look forward to further strengthening the significant collaborations SIT has had with Chinese institutions for over a decade.”
SIT Operations Lead, Daryl Haggerty, stated he valued the opportunity to meet with the delegation. “It strengthens the relationship we have, particularly as we look to rebuild our international connections.”
The delegation also viewed an English class for international students. The class had been given first aid kits and were learning about wellbeing and safety in the New Zealand context. The final stop was to meet SIT’s International support team, before the delegation returned to Christchurch.