CCN’s International Foundation Program is designed to prepare international students for study at undergraduate or graduate level in China, with an opportunity to intern with top industries including Huawei and Alibaba through its University Enterprise Alliance degree programs.

“Students understand that China has so many opportunities”

Students are required to take a 10-month Chinese language foundation course with CNN, after which they are eligible for full scholarships for the remainder of their degrees, if they have achieved a certain percentage.

The students who pass through the pathway program with a score above 70% are awarded a scholarship for their four-year bachelor’s degree or their two-year master’s, while those with lower scores are offered scholarships of a lesser value.

In 2017 Phair saw an opportunity to explore the Study in China brand in the MENA region, and opened the first CCN office in the UAE with plans to expand to other regions including South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in the coming months.

“Students understand that China has so many opportunities, and this scholarship is not only awarded by the university but also recognised by the Beijing government,” he told The PIE News.

“I think China is recognising that tens of thousands of international students are in China studying English and many are finding it difficult to get a job when they return home, which is why we have tied industry partners into their degrees through the University Enterprise Alliance.”

Phair said the programs are designed to give students a fully immersive internship using Chinese language in the third year of their degree, and when they graduate they’re given the opportunity to stay in China and work with the partner companies.

He told The PIE that African students tend to be particularly excited about the opportunity due to being able to see the level of Chinese investment in their own countries, and having a degree mapped out for them that includes a scholarship.

“Students from this region [Dubai] may not as hungry for a scholarship or internship as much as others, however,” Phair said.

“But then this program is brand new in UAE, and in the future, we are planning on running summer camps with younger students to get them more interested in China early on.”