ver 100 experts and scholars from more than 50 universities and secondary schools at home and abroad participated in the International Symposium of Spanish Teaching in China and the establishment ceremony of the SISU-RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) Joint Research Center in Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) on September 18th – 20th, 2018.

SISU’s University Council Chair JIANG Feng received the delegation from Spain and, on behalf of SISU, extended warm welcome to Jose Luis Garcia Galan, minister-counsellor of the Spanish Embassy in China, Darío Villanueva, director of Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and other Spanish guests. JIANG Feng introduced the visions and strategies of talent-cultivation of SISU. He hoped that SISU and RAE would enhance and advance the cooperation in education, research and culture in the future.

In recent years, Spanish has become an increasingly popular foreign language in China. As the Chair of Spanish Subcommittee of the National Foreign Languages Teaching Advisory Board under the Ministry of Education of China, SISU has committed itself to organizing and coordinating various kinds of Spanish teaching and research activities.

LI Yansong, president of SISU, pointed out in his speech: “Despite the far distance between China and Spain, the two countries have a long history of communicating and exchanging. This time, the most advanced linguistic research academy in Spain and the top international studies university in China will jointly promote Spanish, the language of Cervantes, to further spread and develop in China, the hometown of Confucius. The SISU-RAE Joint Research Center will further extend the fields of exchanges, deepen and diversify the cooperation, and increase RAE’s influence in China. SISU will make great efforts to support the establishment of the SISU-RAE Joint Research Center on its Hongkou campus , equipping it with experts dedicated to Spanish teaching and research. We believe that the SISU-RAE Joint Research Center will become an international platform for Spanish teaching nationwide and provide strong support for the cultivation of Spanish talents in China and research cooperation of high level.”

 “The reason for choosing SISU as our partner is that SISU has always stayed at the forefront of China’s opening to the world, especially in the field of foreign language education. Spanish teaching in China is facing good opportunities for rapid development. Royal Spanish Academy, SISU and other universities and secondary schools will together strengthen international cooperation and promote the teaching, research and spread of Spanish in China.”, said Director Villanueva.

The visit of the RAE delegation to SISU will make further contributions to the spread of Spanish in China. Director Villanueva said: “China is a large country of 1.3 billion people. We’ve realized the huge influence and potential of China in geopolitical terms in the 21st century.”

SISU established a major in Spanish in 1959. It enrolled its first undergraduate class in Spanish Language and Literature in the following year, and was awarded the “State-level Specialty with Characteristics”. The Joint Research Center will conduct research on Spanish linguistics, Spanish literature, Spanish culture and Spanish teaching as a second language in universities and secondary schools.

In addition, the center will develop a variety of technical tools and applications for Spanish teaching, such as the "Enclave platform." It will also hold seminars, workshops and conferences to promote Spanish. After the establishment of the SISU-RAE Joint Research Center, a series of Spanish teaching and research, academic and cultural activities will be launched to expand the cooperation and exchanges between two sides.

Gisela Conde Morencia, counsellor for education of the Spanish Embassy in China, Inma Gonzalez, director of Cervantes Institute in Beijing and Professor CHEN Kaixian of Nanjing University also attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.