From 22nd to 24th November 2016, SISB inked Memorandums of Understanding with seven institutions in China, which will help SISB students gain valuable insights and knowledge into Chinese arts, culture and language, through exchange programmes and summer camps, and allow them the possibility of priority consideration for university places. The seven institutions are North China University of Technology, Tshinghua University High School-Chaoyang, Yongledian High School, Yunhe High School, Furong Primary School, Gongyuan Primary School and Xinyuanli No.4 Primary School.

As part of the agreements, SISB will carry out academic exchanges for its teachers and students with their counterparts from the Chinese institutions, including mutual visits and providing support for the visiting personnel. Besides the academic aspects, efforts will also be made to promote mutual understanding of each other’s culture, national characteristics, social development and building friendship.

The seven Chinese institutions are located in various districts in Beijing, China, and were carefully selected based on their qualities and unique values. One of the institutions, Tsinghua University High School from Chaoyang district, emphasises on the character development of their students at a holistic level.

Another institution, the North China University of Technology, targets the development of qualified, high-level, application-oriented professionals. It has 10,200 undergraduate students, 1,500 graduate students, 200 international students, and 2,400 local students. Besides a strong academic programme, the university also has an extensive international network, with more than 30 cooperative partnerships and exchanges with institutions in countries such as USA, Japan, Germany and France.

Besides the emphasis on academic excellence, SISB is also partnering schools which aim to fulfill other aspects of a child’s development. For instance, at Beijing Chaoyang Xinyuanli No. 4 Primary School, the focus is on nurturing and development and, more importantly, on ensuring that students and staff are blissful at every stage of the education process.

Principal Li Xinyu of Xinyuanli said of the partnership with SISB: “I hope that our two schools will take this opportunity to extensively carry out communications and visits between teachers and students… and further enhance our friendship and mutual trust.”

Chief Executive Officer of SISB, Mr Kelvin Koh, who led the SISB delegation to Beijing, China which included Head of School, Mr Victor Giam, and Business Manager, Mr Garret Tan, said: “Through this collaboration, we hope to broaden the horizons of the students from both sides, and raise the academic levels of both institutions.”

China’s higher education system has made huge strides in recent years, with a strong showing at major global rankings. In May this year, Tsinghua University became the first Chinese institution to achieve the top 20 in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2016, an invitation-only survey of 10,000 academics worldwide. Peking University followed close behind at No. 21 in the same ranking. In total, China has a record nine universities in the top 100 of the survey, which ranked Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the first and second place, respectively.