Botswana China students enhance bilateral cooperation
Gothataone Moeng | Tuesday April 29, 2014 11:47
In a student conference scheduled to take place on May 2 in Xiamen, China, the scholars, who are members of the Botswana Student Association in China (BOSAC), are also expected to elect a new Student Representative Council (SRC).
The organiser of the event, Mmoloki Gabatlhaolwe, said that between 26 and 48 students coming from all over China are expected in Xiamen for the conference. Approximately 106 Batswana are studying in China at the moment, many of whom are sponsored by the Chinese Scholarship Council.
BOSAC, an association started in 2009, believes that Batswana students in China will be at the forefront of China-Botswana relations across all aspects of the economy, and aims to ensure that Batswana students bring back more than just professional skills upon completion of their studies.
“They will be able to bridge the sociocultural gap that has a rippling effect on all sectors of the Botswana economy in respect to our China-Botswana relations,” the association’s official profile reads.
Some of the association’s future plans include liaising with international organisations that have interests in Botswana and Africa, promoting and establishing a set tourism route for Chinese nationals and forming exchanges between universities in China and Botswana.
For Batswana studying so far from their home country, and in a completely different cultural environment, the student’s association brings them together and provides a platform to share and discuss their experiences of living in China.
“BOSAC has united Batswana students in China so much that even students from other countries ask to join BOSAC conferences and events,” Gabatlhaolwe, a second year PHD candidate at Xiamen University told Mmegi.
He noted that BOSAC’s primary objective was to ensure that Batswana students in China have beneficial study tenure in Mainland China. BOSAC also organises events to further the career of Batswana students by linking them up with companies that have a vested interest in Botswana, paving way for internship and employment opportunities.
“More and more initiatives to transform Batswana students into world class globally competitive young professionals are in the pipeline,” he said.
Further objectives of the association are the promotion of the Botswana cultural and moral underpinnings through a coordinated and integrated approach to social and academic challenges. The organisation also coordinates Botswana student activities within China and provides social and moral support on academic and social challenges faced by students.
BOSAC was established to cater for the growing number of Batswana students enrolling in educational institutions in China. Kabalano Rampa, an MBA student at Nanchang University, is BOSAC’s current president.
The Chinese government has been providing scholarships for Batswana to study in China since the 1980s, and in recent years has increased the number of scholarships to at least 20 per academic year. According to the Chinese embassy information, the scholarships are meant to “further strengthen the mutual understanding between the people of China and Botswana”.