Prof. Wang Shangxue is new Director of Confucius Institute, University of Nairobi

Prof. Wang Shangxue is the new Director of the Confucius Institute, University of Nairobi. Her two-year term begins on March 22, 2022.

Prof. Wang is the former director of the Thailand Maritime Silk Road Confucius Institute, which is run by Tianjin Normal University.

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi, Prof. Stephen Kiama, received and welcomed Prof. Shangxue to the University of Nairobi and gladly appreciated the bilateral relationship that exists between the University of Nairobi and Tianjin Normal University. "We have had a long-standing relationship between us and your presence here will greatly benefit our students, faculty, and the University at large", said Kiama.

Through the Confucius Institute, University of Nairobi and Tianjin Normal University, have established a collaborative link which includes the exchange of students and lecturers; Chinese lecturers teaching the Chinese language at the University of Nairobi while UoN lecturers teach Kiswahili language at Tianjin Normal University.

The Chinese language is increasingly becoming popular because of the pride of place that China occupies globally. The popularity of the language has been rapidly facilitated by the establishment of the Confucius Institutes, which are mandated with the responsibility of introducing Chinese language and culture to the non-Chinese population.

Kenya has four Confucius Institutes at the University of Nairobi, Egerton University, Kenyatta University, and Moi University. These four institutes offer various Chinese courses to Kenyans interested in acquiring competence in Chinese and understanding Chinese rich culture.

Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi was launched, as the first Confucius Institute in Africa, on Monday, the 19th December, 2005. His Excellency, the president of People’s Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao, met the students and teachers on his visit to Kenya in 2006.  The Confucius Institute at University of Nairobi has been voted top 20 Confucius Institutes with the excellent reward five times in succession from 2007 to the end of 2011.