APSB and LUFT hold joint meeting to discuss strengthening admission procedures for international students in China

On May 20th, The Asia Pacific School of Business (APSB) and Liaoning University of Finance and Traade (LUFT) convened a special meeting on LUFT’s campus. The two institutions engaged in in-depth consultations centered on optimizing the enrollment, cultivation, and service procedures for international students in China, aiming to jointly enhance their international education standards and promote the high-quality development of study-abroad programs in China through institutional innovation and cooperation upgrading. As the host institution, LUFT takes the first-person perspective to elaborate on the meeting’s core content and its strategic plans as follows: 

I. Meeting Background and Core Agenda 

With the deepening of global educational exchanges and cooperation, studying in China has become a vital component of China’s higher education internationalization. Relying on its geographical advantages and disciplinary characteristics, LUFT has accumulated rich experience in international student enrollment, professional curriculum development, and other areas in recent years. APSB, as an educational institution with extensive international influence, has long been committed to building cross-cultural talent cultivation platforms. The collaboration between the two sides represents both an inevitable choice for resource complementarity and a proactive practice in responding to the construction of the "Study in China" brand. 

The meeting focused on four core agendas, with a special addition of the "Strengthening Scholarship System" section to attract outstanding students globally through diverse incentive mechanisms: 

1. Standardizing Enrollment Procedures: LUFT proposed optimizing the review criteria for international student application materials, recommending the introduction of a three-dimensional evaluation model integrating "academic background + language proficiency + development potential". Meanwhile, LUFT will jointly improve the scholarship evaluation mechanism with APSB to ensure student quality and enrollment fairness. 

2. Systematizing Training Programs: LUFT advocates combining its application-oriented disciplinary characteristics with APSB’s business advantages to jointly develop interdisciplinary courses such as *"China’s Economy and Business Practices"* and *"Northeast Asia Regional Cooperation"*, with embedded corporate field visit modules to strengthen students’ practical understanding of the Chinese market. 

3. Refining Service Systems: LUFT proposed establishing an "International Student Service Center" to integrate functions such as visa processing, daily life guidance, and employment matching. Additionally, a "Senior Mentor Program" will be launched, where senior international students will provide adaptive support to new arrivals. 

4. Strengthening Scholarship Systems: LUFT emphasized the construction of a multi-layered and differentiated scholarship system, covering three categories: entrance scholarships, academic scholarships, and practical scholarships. Specifically: 

- Entrance Scholarships will set special quotas for outstanding students from countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, with the highest coverage of full tuition fees. 

- Academic Scholarships will be awarded semiannually based on performance assessments to encourage in-depth professional learning. 

- Practical Scholarships will reward students participating in internships at Chinese enterprises or cultural exchange programs, enhancing their "Understanding and Friendship with China" practical experiences. 

 II. Cooperation Consensus and LUFT’s Action Plan 

The two sides reached multiple important consensuses at the meeting. As a main cooperative entity, LUFT has clarified the following action directions: 

- Establishing a Joint Working Group: Led by LUFT’s International Exchange Office, a special team comprising enrollment, teaching, and student management experts from both institutions will be formed. The goal is to complete the first batch of team member selection by the end of June 2025 and launch enrollment procedure optimization workshops. 

- Developing Featured Curriculum Modules: LUFT will open up its advantageous professional resources in economics, management, culture, and media to jointly design a "theoretical teaching + case study + corporate visit" trinity curriculum system with APSB. The first batch of courses is scheduled to be offered to international students in the autumn semester of 2025. 

- Initiating Special Scholarship Programs: The "APSB-LUFT Study Abroad Scholarship" jointly launched by the two institutions will be officially announced in July 2025. Among them, Among them, APSB and LUFT jointly funded "Excellence Scholarship of Liaoning University of Finance and Trade and The Asia Pacific School of Business" will focus on supporting research talents in fields such as energy conservation,, and the digital economy, with a maximum annual funding of CNY 50,000 per project. 

- Promoting Cultural Exchange Activities: LUFT plans to host the first "Chinese and International Student Cultural Festival" in September 2025, featuring intangible cultural heritage experiences, Northeast folk custom displays, and international student entrepreneurship fairs. Additionally, a "Touring Liaoning" corporate visit program will be launched, organizing international students to conduct on-site research at multinational enterprises in Shenyang, Dalian, and other cities to deepen their understanding of China’s regional economy. 

- Improving Scholarship Management Mechanisms: LUFT will formulate the *Implementation Rules for International Student Scholarships*, clarifying review procedures, fund usage standards, and dynamic assessment mechanisms to maximize scholarship incentives. Meanwhile, a "scholarship recipient tracking file" will be established to collect feedback regularly for system optimization. 

III. Significance and LUFT’s Vision 

This consultation marks a new milestone for LUFT in international education. As stated by LUFT’s President at the meeting: "As a local university, LUFT has always regarded international student education as a crucial means to serve the national opening-up strategy and enhance regional educational influence. Through deep collaboration with APSB, our goal is not only to attract more international students to 'come in' but also to help them 'stay and contribute,' becoming civil ambassadors for China-foreign exchanges." 

In the future, LUFT will take the strengthening of the scholarship system as a breakthrough point to build a full-chain service system covering "enrollment-cultivation-employment". The university strives to achieve a 50% growth in the scale of international students and increase the proportion of degree-seeking students to 60% within three years. We look forward to enabling more international students to gain knowledge, experience culture, and fulfill their dreams at LUFT, injecting a more vibrant "Liaoning force" into the "Study in China" brand. 

If you have any comments or suggestions, please visit: https://www.apsb.edu.eu or https://www.lncmxy.edu.cn

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