The second snowfall of the Chinese New Year blankets Beijing and surprises the newly arrived IMPA class 2015. At the beginning of spring semester, 35 international students from 20 developing countries, joined IMPA program in the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University. Two students mark the first students admitted by SPPM from Timor-leste and Yemen, whereas most students’ hometowns are close to or south to the equator. Everybody are happy to learn that in the Chinese culture, the snowfall in the spring gives promises to a fruitful year ahead. Being nervous and excited, they have to begin their course study with a very brief orientation program. The warm welcome and tips about Tsinghua from SPPM students and IMPA program office guide their new campus life in the university.
On March 2, the IMPA 2015 Program Opening Ceremony was held in SPPM. Dean Prof. XUE Lan along with SPPM professors and director of Graduate School welcomed the students. Dean XUE introduced how SPPM trained talents in the field of public administration, at same time he proposed expectations on new IMPA students by emphasizing the school’s motto of “cultivate the morality to serve the public”. Managers from MCC Overseas, who had been supporting the program for three years, also came and sent their greetings and gifts.
Launched in 2008 by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Commerce, the IMPA program is designed for government officials from developing countries to expand ability to apply public administrative theories and tools, to gain a better understanding of China’s development practices and to build leadership skills necessary for problem-solving in developing and transition countries. The program aims to share the successes and lessons of China’s development experiences and to make contributions to the practice of international development. Since the inception, IMPA has trained 229 graduates with advanced public management knowledge and skills from 69 developing countries.
