Our regional team in China hosted a celebratory ceilidh to mark St Andrew’s Day. Around 200 people attended the event. Attendees included Edinburgh students who have remained in Shanghai as they were unable to travel to Edinburgh for on-campus study in September, members of our alumni who miss Edinburgh immensely, and contacts and partners the University works with in the region. Although the majority of China is back to a ‘new normal’, with some similar rules to the UK in place which restrict activities, social gatherings are permitted. As many of our students in China may feel they are missing out on the Edinburgh experience, because they have remained in China or deferred their studies, the St Andrew’s Day ceilidh was held with the intention of bringing a little bit of Edinburgh to Shanghai. Image Grace Guan, Regional Director, East Asia, said: “It has been a challenging year to say the least. For our enrolled students, it’s particularly difficult, due to various restrictions, many of them cannot attend classes on campus. Instead, they are studying overseas online, which comes with its own challenges - technical and geographical. For them, they are also missing out opportunities to get to know the people and culture in Edinburgh, which help makes an Edinburgh degree so special. So that’s why we thought a St. Andrew’s Day Ceilidh would be a great way to bring people together, in a fun and social setting, for students and alumni to connect.” The event kicked off with a video message from the Principal, who wore his family tartan, to welcome the students and alumni to the event. The live band and piper helped to fill the venue with some classic Scottish ceilidh music, whilst the caller helped to teach the attendees six classic ceilidh dances throughout the evening. Image Image Attendees next to Chinese characters saying #Scotland Grace Guan said: “It was a great evening with plenty of laughter and music, food and drinks, and more importantly we bonded over the sense of belonging to Edinburgh - the city and the university.” The regional team hope to host an annual ceilidh to celebrate Scottish connections, and to help build and connect a community of future Edinburgh ambassadors. Find out more and connect with the East Asia team Visit the Regional page This article was published on 2024-06-24
