University launches UNNC Institute for Teaching Excellence

The opening ceremony of the UNNC Institute for Teaching Excellence (ITE) was held on 7^th January 2019. The aim of the new institute is to train teachers, education professionals and school managers as well as offer consultations and curriculum development resources.

ITE also intends to devote significant resources to teacher development in rural and underdeveloped regions, so as to further UNNC’s goal of contributing to education equality in China.

“Our teachers love these projects,” said David Foster, Director of CELE (Centre for English Language Education) Knowledge Exchange and Business Development. “For them, they are the most meaningful of all the courses we teach and every time I put out a call for teachers for these courses, I receive more volunteers than I can accommodate.”

UNNC Vice Provost Professor May Tan-Mullins added: “The launch of ITE will enhance UNNC’s teacher training programmes and serve as a hub from which to expand UNNC’s impact on Chinese education.”

Over the next three years, ITE will train 1,500 teachers, of which 600 will be English teachers from rural or undeveloped areas around China. 150 teachers from rural communities around Ningbo and its surrounding areas will also benefit. Overall, the centre aims to invest 1.5 million RMB to train English teachers from rural or undeveloped areas.