The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China-India Friendship Association have presented the China-India Friendship Award on G. Viswanathan, Chancellor of VIT University.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao presented the award to Mr. Viswanathan at a function held in New Delhi on Wednesday in the presence of the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and many other dignitaries.
According to a VIT University release, the award is presented in recognition of the significant contributions to promote China-India friendship.
As Chancellor of the University, Mr. Viswanathan has been playing a key role in promoting goodwill between the two great civilizations in the realm of education.
VIT initiated the Indo-Chinese collaborative efforts with the admission of Chinese students in 2005. It has so far entered into academic collaborations with 15 Chinese universities. Currently, it has 359 Chinese students on its rolls. Further, VIT is the first institution in the country to start an official Chinese Language Centre in the country. VIT students also visit China under the Semester Abroad Programme.
The University has also been taking proactive steps to find placements for Chinese students in the Indian companies in China.
The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and China-India Friendship Association decided to confer the award on Mr. Viswanathan after taking all the above aspects into consideration and his efforts in bringing the two nations closer in the field of education.
VIT vice-presidents Sankar Viswanathan and G.V. Sampath attended the award function.
