Chinese studies at the University of Wrocław
On 25 October 2023, the Senate of the University of Wrocław passed a resolution on the termination of the interuniversity organisational unit operating as the Confucius Institute at the University of Wrocław.
The Senate’s decision is a consequence of the expiry on 25 January 2023 of the agreement under which the Institute functioned as a teaching and research centre within the structure of the University of Wrocław. From March 2023, the Institute operated as a unit directly subordinate to the Rector. The Confucius Institute at the University of Wrocław provided Chinese language courses between 2008 and 2022.
Notwithstanding the expiry of the cooperation agreement with the Chinese side on 25 January 2023, the University of Wrocław has been educating students in Chinese studies at the Faculty of Letters since 2019.
Chinese studies at the University of Wrocław is one of the most popular fields of study. This academic year, there were as many as 12 applicants for one place. The University of Wrocław authorities decided to increase the number of staff in the Department of Chinese Studies at the Institute of Classical, Mediterranean and Oriental Studies. The Department is now staffed by an interdisciplinary team of six teachers and researchers from Poland, China and Italy. Other academics from the Institute of Classical, Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, as well as lecturers from the Institute of History and the Faculty of Social Sciences, also support the realisation of selected fields of study in Chinese studies.
As of the 2023/2024 academic year, first-year students of Chinese studies study according to a new programme with a greater emphasis on the study of Chinese language and culture. Recruiting Chinese language experts is not an easy task, but we hope to be able to launch a second-cycle studies in the future. We also intend to increase the number of students enrolled in first-cycle studies in the next academic year.
