Welcome To ICS : Institute Of Chinese Studies ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Collaborations

International Collaboration :

BCIM NEWS

The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum (BCIM) for Regional Economic Cooperation, of which ICS is the liaison office for India , is committed to the enhancement of connectivity between East and Northeast India , and Bangladesh , Myanmar and China 's southwestern province of Yunnan . A number of initiatives are currently afoot to improve transport connectivity in the region for the promotion of trade and tourism (exemplified in the proposed Kunming to Kolkata Overland Car Rally), as well as the level of people-to-people contacts.

A recent effort in the enhancement of people-to-people contacts, was the exchange visit of fourteen eleventh standard school children of The Sri Ram School, Aravali (Gurgaon), with the very well-regarded Kunming No. 1 Middle School. The project was conceived and initiated by Mr. Ravi Bhoothalingam, ICS Visiting Fellow and member of the Indian delegation to BCIM focusing on Tourism, and Prof. Ren Jia of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, and enthusiastically taken up by the Director of the Sri Ram School , Mr. Mark Parkinson. The fourteen students spent 10 days in China , from 16 th to 26 th November 2007 , staying in the homes of their Chinese partner-students. They attended activity, sports, music and dance classes, as well as classes in English, Chinese, Maths and Sciences, and went on a number of outings to places of scenic interest in and around Kunming .

The students and the teacher who accompanied them, Ms Girija Balakrishnan, returned enormously enthused by the wonderful experience they had had, and deeply appreciative of the warm hospitality of their Chinese host families and all concerned. They were particularly impressed by the discipline of the Chinese students, both in academic and extra-curricular activities, and by the wide public interest in India . They were thrilled to be interviewed on Kunming television. The students are now looking forward to the return visit of their Chinese friends early in 2008.

On 10 th January 2008, the students made an illustrated presentation regarding their visit for teachers of other branches of the Sri Ram School in the Delhi region, as well as Mr Ravi Bhoothalingam, Prof. Patricia Uberoi, director of ICS, and Mr Sun Weidong and Ms Sun Xinquan of the Chinese Embassy, New Delhi, who had graciously arranged an Orientation function for the students prior to their departure for Kunming. While there have been an increasing number of India-China college and youth delegation exchanges, , this was probably the very first exchange of middle/high school students. Many other schools have now expressed interest in such exchange programmes, and also in the short-term exchange of teachers. The latter would seem to hold much potential for cooperation among the BCIM countries.

The China Study Group and now the ICS have been collaborating with foreign scholars and institutes in many projects. The Institute of Chinese Studies has entered into MoUs with various foreign institutions including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), and the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (YASS). Scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and from universities and research institutions of China have visited the ICS. Scholars from Japan, the UK, Europe and North America have also addressed seminars at the ICS. It has institutional interaction with research centres in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Hong Kong and Taipei.
ICS faculty members have had teaching and research assignments in China and other Asia-Pacific, European and American Universities. They have also participated in international projects, including some under the United Nations University.

On 9 th May 2006, ICS was visited by two distinguished Chinese scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS); Ms. Tan Xiuying, Director & Deputy Editor-in-Chief, The Institute of World Economics and Politics, CASS, Beijing, and; Ms. Xi Yanbin, The Institute of World Economics and Politics, CASS, Beijing. The visit of these Chinese scholars, as guests of the Indian Council for Social Science Research ICSSR, is based on the India-China Cultural Exchange Programme.

Training and All-India coordination :

To promote Chinese studies in different universities of India, the ICS has undertaken a number of initiatives. It holds an annual National Training Workshop for research scholars and young lecturers in East Asian studies in which, during a ten day period, the participants closely interact with the ICS faculty and visiting scholars. It organises seminars with collaborating institutions outside Delhi. It supports visiting research scholars from other universities by providing local hospitality and access to ICS resources. ICS actively participates in the conferences of the Indian Congress of Asia Pacific Studies (ICAPS).