On 20 June 2015, the LSE Confucius Institute for Business London (CIBL) successfully ran a Pre-Departure training course for students attending the CIBL/Tsinghua Summer Programme for volunteers who are going to teach in Guangzhou and Xi’an this summer. More than 30 trainees attended the training and CIBL’s coordinator Dr. Lu Hong, office manager Craig Meegan, mandarin teachers Ms. Li Yuan and Ms. Li Chunli and CIBL intern Guan Jixuan gave a series lectures and workshops on topics including differences between western and Chinese culture, survival Chinese language, a brief introduction of the Tsinghua Programme, organization of class teaching as well as China visa application.
All the trainees were actively involved in the training and felt that it was very useful to them. After the training had come to an end the event moved on to China town where the participants enjoyed a 10 course Chinese meal and learned about Chinese culinary culture. This was a great way of experiencing Chinese culture and getting to know the rest of the group.
Both the trainers and the trainees benefit a lot from this event. It encourages CIBL to continue to provide quality service to all its learners and it also helped the trainees to prepare for their coming summer in China.