Shanghai offers incentives to foreign students

Shanghai is encouraging foreign students to study at local universities with a package that includes scholarships and language training programmes. Municipal officials hope the number of foreign students will increase to 70,000 – a 45% gain – by 2015, writes Wang Hongyi for China Daily.

The municipality will establish a comprehensive scholarship system to encourage outstanding students to study in the city, according to a Shanghai Municipal Education Commission development plan for 2011-15, unveiled last weekend. According to the plan, the city will increase the number of government-funded scholarships and add a full scholarship for undergraduates.

The number of international students in the city has gone up in recent years. In 2011, about 47,700 overseas students were studying in Shanghai, but only a third of them were in long-term degree programmes. The plan's goal is to have at least 70% of foreign students studying in long-term degree programmes.
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