Source: Lingnan College
Written by: Lingnan College
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On April 29, 2016, Dean Xu Xinzhong of Lingnan College, Sun Yat-sen University and Dean Keith Gull of St Edmund Hall, Oxford University signed an agreement in Britain to initiate a program on Global Strategic Leadership. The program will be another significant overseas study exchange following the Yale-China/L(U)C Symposium on Global Strategic Leadership. The Global Strategic Leadership program is aimed at broadening the global vision of students and cultivating their cross-cultural communication skills, critical thinking ability, and social responsibility.

In the Oxford-Lingnan Global Strategic Leadership program, nine undergraduate students selected by Lingnan College will team up with the six students from St Edmund Hall. They will work together to research a certain company, based on global issues such as population, the environment, business ethics and so on. Each winter vacation Lingnan students will spend a week in Oxford for a study tour; Oxford students will then come to China for another week. During the two weeks of exchange in both countries, lectures and company visits will be arranged. On the last day, the students will deliver their research results in a presentation contest.

The Oxford-Lingnan Symposium on Global Strategic Leadership is funded by the Huanghua International Exchange Fund. The Huanghua International Exchange Fund was established in 2013 in memory of Mr. Huang Hua, Honorary Chairman of Lingnan College, who was also a renowned diplomat. The Fund is aimed at promoting exchange and cooperation between Lingnan College and overseas business schools, and broadening the vision of Lingnan students. Ever since the Fund was established, it has received tremendous support and generous donations from Lingnan alumni and people in all walks of life. Donations to the Fund have now exceeded 12 million RMB.

St Edmund Hall, a college of the University of Oxford, retains its distinctive ancient title of 'Hall' as it dates back to the thirteenth century, before most other colleges had been founded. At present, it has 450 undergraduates, 250 graduates and 70 Fellows. The undergraduates come from all backgrounds and include students from both the UK and further afield. The graduate population is an equally diverse body of students studying a wide range of subjects at the Masters and PhD levels.