By Sophie Zhu

       8月9号至15号，来自美国、英国、波兰、俄罗斯、斯洛伐克、斯里兰卡、塔吉克斯坦等国的近70位孔子学院外方院长聚会厦门大学,进行了为期一周的研修。期间，研修班成员与做客嘉宾对中国文化的特点,中外文化差异,中外管理文化比较,中国教育体制与教育改革,孔子学院市场营销战略、竞争优势与可持续发展等主题进行讨论并交流经验。 

    A week-long workshop for overseas Confucius Institute directors was held at Xiamen University from August 9 to 15. More than sixty directors from countries including Britain, Poland, Russia, Thailand and the U.S. attended the workshop.
    Scholars including Shu Yi, curator of the National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, and Zhou Mansheng, Deputy Director-General of the National Center of Education Development Research, led seminars on topics such as Chinese culture and the country’s foreign policy and education system. Most of the participants have conducted extensive research on Chinese history and culture.
    Other seminars covered cooperation between Chinese and foreign directors, development plans and marketing strategies for local institutes.
    The workshop was designed for directors to share their experiences managing the various institutes. A number of directors noted that the perception of Chinese culture varies in different parts of the world.
    Over 300 Confucius Institutes have been established in cooperation with universities around the world since the program began in 2004. Each institute is jointly administered by a director from China and a partner at the host university.
    Related workshops were also held in Nankai University and Renmin University.