Sir Colin Lucas, vice chancellor of the University of Oxford, announced to Beijing media on February 24 that Oxford universities hope to admit 200 Chinese students this year.
At the annual Education Exhibition in China every year, universities from all over the UK attend to gather students from the extremely talented student source that China has to offer. However, a noticeable absence in the past has been that of Cambridge and Oxford universities -- some of the most prestigious in the world. There have been some questions as to why they have had no representation in China. Sir Colin explained:
?Although Oxford has not attended the Education Exhibition, many important professors and I come here to interview promising Chinese students: mostly because of the importance of Chinese students. There are two necessary qualifications for Oxford: one is cleverness, the other excellent English. We are very interested in appealing to Chinese students as China has some of the smartest students in the world.?
Today, many more Chinese students are applying for undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Oxford. Since 2001, Oxford has sent its professors to China each November to interview and admit students who apply for undergraduate courses in Oxford. This February, Oxford is back in China again, interviewing for postgraduate positions. Eighty students attended the Oxford afternoon on the February 24. Sir Colin told the reporters that Oxford would admit 200 undergraduates and postgraduates from China this year, taking from the very best that China has to offer.
(China.org.cn by Chen Lin March 5, 2003)
