Professor Emma Cayley, Head of the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (LCS) at the University of Leeds, has always been a people person and enjoys languages. She studied some Mandarin after taking trips to China for work and has seen how knowing even a little Mandarin can help with...
Whilst studying for a BTEC in journalism, Nathan Krout discovered a passion for Chinese language and culture that changed the course of his life. Having never previously considered going to university, he was accepted to study Chinese at the University of Leeds and now uses his language skills in his...
With our next 8-week Chinese courses beginning in May we had a look back at the Mandarin Aspirations stories we have shared so far from evening course students. Read on to find out what motivated them to learn Chinese and understand what influenced their decision to sign up for a course...
Skritter CEO Jake Gill (高健) shows up with passion and dedication in all areas of his life, whether that is at work leading the world’s number one character writing application, or creating graffiti style character art in his spare time. During the pandemic he has returned to a regular routine of Chinese study, taking part in language-learning challenges on Instagram and sharing vibrant digital artwork...
In a guest lecture for the Business Confucius Institute in November 2020, Leeds alumnus Guy Dru Drury gave us an insight into his successful career journey. In this post we explore the lessons Mandarin learners can take from his story. From tour guiding to entrepeneurship, Guy’s career path has...
Earlier this month the Careers Centre at the University of Leeds organised a series of workshops about the top five skills that LinkedIn says employers value. We went along to find out more about these skills and to consider how Mandarin learners can demonstrate creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and emotional...
Sean McGibney and Oliver Leach from The Chairman’s Bao (TCB) joined us on 17 March to give a guest lecture about the evolution of the company and the lessons they have learned from running a business for Mandarin learners. Both are University of Leeds alumni, graduating in 2015 from Chinese...
After graduating from Chinese and International Development this year Natasha Fowler-Ekar will take her place as Equality and Liberation Officer on the LUU Student Executive team. We talked to Natasha about her personal experiences as a working class, neurodivergent, queer woman of colour doing a Chinese degree. Natasha’ speech is peppered with superlatives, covering both ends of the spectrum. Studying Chinese...
In both his studies and his career, Tobias Ross has been able to combine his two passions – football and China. After completing his BA in Chinese and Business at the University of Applied Sciences Bremen, Germany, Tobias went on to study an MA in Development Studies at Beijing Normal University. He has pursued a...
When Kay McLeod was given a Teach Yourself Chinese Characters kit for Christmas, she became instantly fascinated by Mandarin. Her love of Chinese language and culture has blossomed since then, giving her unforgettable experiences and leading to her current role as Coordinator of the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP). The MEP...
“Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival with your BCI family!
Register here bit.ly/3MLhkoM
Boat racing, duck hu… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”
“A great quote from our recent event, Building a network and a career as an expat in China.
Read our… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”
“We are honoured to have won the @LeedsUniBSchool Partnership Global Award for 2022!
This is a proud moment for BCI… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”
