Since its establishment 38 months ago, Confucius Institute at University of Mauritius (CI-UoM) has grown from a one-member Unit in a shared office to an Institute with 12 staff members and separate offices. The two Directors, together with the teachers and students, have developed CI into what it is now.
When Mr. Tan Xudong, the first Chinese Director of CI-UoM, stepped on the ground of Mauritius in November 2016, he was overwhelmed by unfamiliar environments. He was anxious but not unprepared. Soon he was seen in different offices at UoM, trying to draw attention to the new-born CI and seek assistance to start the Chinese language courses and cultural and educational exchanges between Mauritius and China. Two Chinese language teachers and a local CI Director joined him three months later and the enrollment of students was initiated. From 70 enrollments in 2017 to 700 in 2019, CI has altogether enrolled around 1,500 students, with more than 20 classes opened and approximately 500 students studying Mandarin at present. More and more departments at UoM now include Mandarin as one of their foreign language modules. Besides Mandarin, courses of calligraphy, Chinese painting, Taiji boxing, Baduanjin (a form of Chinese qigong exercise) and Chinese songs are offered on demand. The cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries have been fruitful too. Since 2017 academic exchanges have been active between UoM and ZSTU (Zhejiang Sci-Tech University) in China. UoM has sent more than six delegations to ZSTU including those in summer camp and winter camp programmes. ZSTU has sent professionals to hold specialized workshops for UoM students as part of educational exchange programmes. In August 2019, ZSTU-UoM Joint Research Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering was established at Centre for Biomedical and Biomaterials Research (CBBR). Currently eight students with Chinese scholarships from CI-UoM are studying at ZSTU. Scholars from other Chinese universities have given lectures and talks on various topics such as economy, textile, African studies at UoM. Cultural activities like concerts, shows, exhibitions are held frequently. Chinese elements can be seen in many UoM activities.
None of the above was achieved easily. At the celebration of CI’s 3rd anniversary in November 2019, Mr. Tan was visibly emotional when he said “I always look on CI-UoM as our child. Three years ago, we gave birth to a child, and now he’s three years old…Wherever I will be, I will have the Institute in my heart.”
It was not easy for him to say goodbye to the “kid” that he had dedicated all his heart and energy to. Neither was it easy for the teachers and students who have known him and loved him for his enthusiasm, dedication, perseverance and humor at work and in life, to say goodbye. Groups of students and colleagues at CI-UoM held farewell parties to express their gratitude before his departure.
We, all the staff and students, would like to say: ‘Thank you and all the best to you, Mr. Tan. You shall remain, forever, in our memories.’
CI-UoM students saying good bye to Mr Tan, in their own special way!
Staff of CI-UoM saying goodbye to Mr Tan Xudong at Opium Restaurant
Symbolic handover of directorship; Associate Professor Tan Xudong symbolically hands over the responsibility of directorship of CI-UoM to Professor Fu Mingduan