Aula 2008: Outstanding international participation at Aula.
Aula 2008: The International Educational Opportunities Exhibition, AULA '08, the largest Spanish fair within its field, will present an increasingly strong international dimension. This aspect of the fair will be strengthened on this occasion through the participation of China as Guest Country. This event, organised by IFEMA, will take place at Feria de Madrid between 2nd and 6th April next.
Italy will also present its university opportunities at the fair
Each year, the fair features the participation of a different Guest Country, which at this sixteenth edition will be China. In fact, this is the first time that an Asian country has taken part at the International Educational Opportunities Exhibition. China will participate through the auspices of the Chinese Service Centre for Student Exchanges. This body will present the educational opportunities available at 18 universities located in different regions throughout the country, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, Gansu and Guangxi, among others.
The representatives who will be attending the Chinese stand are professionals attached to the offices at each university that are devoted to international student affairs. Chinese language courses especially designed for Spanish students will be offered, along with post-graduate courses, English programmes and summer course packages that include transport and educational opportunities. Furthermore, this stand will promote the Summer Olympics Games - Beijing 2008.
The participation of China at this edition of Aula is especially opportune in view of the increasing interest in Chinese culture and language and the rising demand for the corresponding courses. In effect, according to figures furnished by the International Chinese Language Council, Chinese language courses are currently being offered in more than 2,500 universities outside China, whilst the number of students learning Chinese comes to around 30 million throughout the world. Furthermore, there are more than 200 Confucius Institutes (four of which are located in Spain) in addition to other educational and cultural centres that offer courses in Chinese language and culture. Furthermore, in recent years, China has joined the list of the most popular countries in terms of foreign student arrivals, welcoming more than 160,000 from 180 countries, according to figures corresponding to the year 2006.
In addition, Italy will also play a prominent role at Aula '08, thanks to an agreement that has been signed between the exhibition and its Italian counterpart, Job & Orienta, located in the city of Verona. This agreement means that a total of 12 education centres and universities in Italy will be able to present their products and services grouped together at a single stand at Feria de Madrid. Thus, visitors to the International Educational Opportunities Exhibition will have the opportunity to discover all of the courses and programmes available in Italy, as well as the training courses offered by different Italian bodies.
In short, both students and professionals from the field of education (teachers, career advisors ...) will enjoy a more international event than ever at Aula by attending the sixteenth edition of the International Educational Opportunities Exhibition between 2nd and 6th April 2008 at the Ifema exhibition centre.
