Peking University Delegation Visits Five New Zealand Universities

12/08/2018  From 4 August through 12 August, a Peking University delegation headed by Professor Liu Shusen, Director of New Zealand Centre at Peking University, paid a visit to five universities in New Zealand to extend engagements and enhance academic exchanges and collaborations. 

From 4 August through 12 August, a Peking University delegation paid a visit to five universities in New Zealand to extend engagements and enhance academic exchanges and collaborations.  Headed by Professor Liu Shusen, Director of New Zealand Centre at Peking University, the delegation consisted of five members including Professor Zhao Baisheng of the Institute of World Literature, A/Professor Bi Minghui of the School of Arts, A/Professor Liu Hongzhong of New Zealand Centre, and Dr. Ma Naiqiang of the School of Foreign Languages. In the wake of the official visit of New Zealand’s Minister Chris Hipkins and Ambassador Clare Fearnley to Peking University on 17 July, New Zealand Centre organized the visit of five PKU academics who engage with New Zealand Studies, in order to strengthen existing relations and explore new opportunities of collaboration. Among the delegates, it is the first trip of Professor Zhao Baisheng and A/Professor Bi Minghui to visit New Zealand, although they hosted visiting New Zealand academics at Peking University and teach New Zealand literature and music in their own courses to undergraduates and postgraduate students. 

In spite of the limited time slot for the trip, the visit was amazingly well arranged thanks to the great efforts by Secretariat of New Zealand Centre Advisory Board based at the University of Auckland, especially the great and continuing assistance of Libby Passau and Pip Anderson. As the present and the former Chairman of New Zealand Centre Advisory Board, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Massey University Stuart Morris and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Auckland Professor Jenny Dixon advised on the plan of the visit and provided the guidance on the major details, the delegation visited the five universities, even including the additional visit to the bach where the internationally renowned New Zealand short-story writer and novelist Frank Sargeson (1903~1982) lived and wrote his masterpieces at the height of his writing career. As Professor Zhao Baisheng reflects on the visit to the simple but historic hut, it is tremendously important and inspiring to understand and teach Sargeson’s works as representative masterpieces of New Zealand fiction. 

The delegation arrived at Otago University on 6 August and met Director Jason Cushen and other officers of the International Office before having workshops with Professor Ross Notman, Dean of the College of Education, Dr Shef Rogers and A/Professor Jacob Edmond of the Department of English & Linguistics, and Dr Jennifer Cattermole of the Department of Music, Theatre and Performing Arts. As a highlight of the visit, Dr Jennifer Cattermole kindly arranged an impressive rehearsal of the music students of her Department. As an exchange, A/Professor Bi Minghui also presented a video of Peking University student orchestra’s performances at home and abroad. Among other discussed possibilities of collaboration, Dr Sin Wen Lau of the Department of Languages & Cultures and A/Professor Liu Hongzhong focused on a project for Otago students to attend an intensive programme of learning Chinese language and culture at Peking University, in the same way as students of Massey University and the University of Canterbury study at Peking University with the help of the Prime Minister’s Scholarship. The visit was concluded with a meeting with Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Tony Ballantyne. Professor Tony Ballantyne presented his newly published books. 

A Group Photo at the University of Otago

On 7 August the delegation visited Victoria University of Wellington, where they first had a meeting with Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Professor John Macalister, Chair of Contemporary China Research Centre Tony Browne, A/Professor Jason Young and discussed how to promote the collaboration, including the links with the South Pacific island countries. The delegation also had separate meetings with Professor Mark Williams, Professor Damien Wilkins, Dr Marco Songzogni, and Dr April Henderson of the School of English, Film, Theater and Media Studies, Professor Sally-Jane Norman and Dr Brian Diettrich of New Zealand School of Music, and Professor Stephen Cummings of the Victoria School of Business. The discussion chiefly focused on new opportunities of collaboration in teaching and research, including the study of literature of New Zealand and the South Pacific. Thanks to the generous arrangement of the Victoria colleagues, the delegation had the privilege of visiting the house of the internationally renowned New Zealand short-story writer Katherine Mansfield (1888~1923) , where she was born and spent her childhood. The visit is apparently helpful to better understand her life and writing career. The visit helped bring about new links and engagements. As a result of the delegation’s visit, Professor Bao Maohong of the Department of History at Peking University has been in touch with Professor James Beattie of the Victoria Faculty of Science, inviting him to visit Peking University and talk on environmental history in New Zealand and Britain in the coming semester. 

A Group Photo at Victoria University at Wellington

From Right to Left: Dr Ma Naiqaing, A/Professor Bi Minghui, Assistant Vice Chancellor Mr Blair McRae, Professor Hohn Macalister, Professor Liu Shusen, A/Professor Liu Hobgzhong, and Professor Zhao Baisheng

On 8 August the delegation visited Waikato University. It was the first visit of a Peking University delegation to Waikato University, although New Zealand Centre hosted the visit of leaders and visiting academics of Waikato University before. The delegation had a meeting with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai, Pro Vice-Chancellor International Professor Ed Weymes, Mulan as Associate Director Transnational Partnerships and Education, Professor Brian Findsen of the Faculty of Education, A/Professor Sandy Morrison of the Faculty of Maori and Indigenous Studies, A/Professor Alice Te Punga Somerville of the Faculty of Maori and Indigenous Studies, and Professor Martin Lodge of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, discussing the possibilities of collaboration. The meeting was followed by two workshops, where Professor Brian Findsen presented “The character of Tertiary Education in Aotearoa New Zealand”, focusing on the varieties of tertiary education in New Zealand and the trend of their future development, in addition to the role of the Universities New Zealand. A/Professor Sandy Morrison talked on Te Whiringa School of Educational Leadership and Policy with a focus on Maori Education and Philosophy. Then Professor Martin Lodge hosted a discussion on the work with the Polaris Quartet of Shanghai, and A/Professor Alice Te Punga Somerville talked on Pacific literary and cultural studies, which is also a possible field for the future collaboration between the two universities, such as co-teaching some courses in world literature. Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Alister Jones also made a great effort to meet with the delegation before his business flight.

A Group Photo at Waikato University

The delegation came to visit the University of Auckland on 9 August. The history of the academic exchanges and collaboration between Peking University and the University of Auckland dates back to the early 1990s. The purposes of the visit is to further enhance existing academic collaborations and explore possibilities for further collaboration, with the history of tertiary education in New Zealand and the South Pacific Island countries, history of music in New Zealand and the South Pacific Island countries, New Zealand literature, comparative literature, and the South Pacific studies and international relations as specific areas of interest. The University of Auckland organized a welcome and open discussion meeting attended by more than a dozen of faculty members and administrators, including Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Jenny Dixon, Professor of Paul Clark of the Faculty of Humanities, and the former New Zealand Centre fellows who have visited Peking University before, such as Professor Christian Hartinger of the Faculty of Sciences, Professor Douglas Pratt, Senior Lecturer Hilary Chung of the Faculty of Humanities, A/Professor Ralph Buck and Senior Lecturer Manfredo Manfredini of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Professor and Associate Dean Lawrence Zhang of the Faculty of Education and Social Work, Senior Lecturer Stephen Noakes of the Faculty of Arts, Senior Lecturer Ali Mirjalili of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Senior Lecturer Jeremy Seligman of the Faculty of Arts, Senior Lecturer Zhi Dong of the Faculty of Business and Economics, Executive Assistant Pip Anderson, and Secretary to the New Zealand Centre Advisory Board Libby Passau and New Zealand Centre intern liaison officer Mia Chung. 

Then the discussion was extended at separate workshops, where Dr. Rae Siilita of the Faculty of Education and Social Work，Dr. Sean Sturm and Dr. Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki of the Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education, A/Professor Stephen Hoadley and Dr. Nicole Perry of the Faculty of Arts, and Associate Professor Allan Badley of the School of Music introduced their teaching and research and discussed with the visiting delegates common interests of research and collaboration. Thanks to the assistance of Libby Passau, A/Professor Bi Minghui obtained the privilege of having an individual meeting with Professor Stephen Davis of the Faculty of Arts.  Professor Stephen Davis is distinguished as an internationally leading scholar in philosophy of arts, which is also the research field of A/Professor Bi Minghui.

A Group Photo at Waikato University

On 10 August the delegation visited the Auckland campus of Massey University, where the delegates met Deputy Vice Chancellor Stuart Morris and attended the workshop on how to collaborate in the study of History of tertiary education in New Zealand, comparative education, history of music in New Zealand, New Zealand literature, and South Pacific studies & Comparative Literature. Representatives of Massey University included Head of School of English and Media Studies A/Professor Jenny Lawn, Head of the Institute of Education Professor John O'Neill, Senior Lecturer Jack Ross of the School of English and Media Studies, Dr Peter Meihana of the School of Humanities, Senior Lecturer Michael Li of the School of Humanities, Senior Lecturer Sally Liu of the School of Humanities, Dr. Jack Ross of the School of English and Media Studies, and Ms Zhu Lin as International Student Recruitment Manager. As a visiting senior scholar to Massey University, Professor Wu Xiaoan of the Department of History at Peking University also joined in the meeting and workshop and shared his experiences of extending the collaboration with Senior Lecturer Sally Liu of the School of Humanities at Massey University. 

A Group Photo at Massey University.

As Chairman of the New Zealand Centre Advisory Board, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Stuart Morris had a dialogue with the delegates to explore the possible ways of promoting the academic collaboration to a higher level, as discussed when the New Zealand Minister of Education Chris Hipkins and Ambassador Clare Fearnley visited Peking University in July. They discussed possibilities consisted of the extension of collaboration according to the model of the three-brother collaborative programme, the idea of establishing a joint Chair Professor programme to teach at Peking University and New Zealand universities, the training of schoolmasters of China’s primary and middle schools, and the forum of university presidents.
The visit of the Peking University delegation helped create some immediate opportunities of new collaboration and also greatly contributed to bridging the new connections for near future collaborations. It was also helpful for Dr Ma Naiqiang and A/Professor Bi Minghui in terms of the research projects they are undertaking to study the history of New Zealand higher education and the history of music in New Zealand, including the heritage of Maori music.

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