Confucius Institutes are non-profit public institutes with the goal of promoting a friendly relationship with other countries and enhancing the understanding of the Chinese language and culture among world Chinese learners as well as providing good learning conditions for them. The Institutes are modeled after Confucius, a famous thinker, educator and philosopher from Chinese history, whose influential ideas that have permeated Chinese society. To name the institutes after him demonstrates the longevity and depth of Chinese language and culture, and the institutes embody the development trend of integrating Chinese language and culture into global society in the 21 st century.

China’s Office of Chinese Language Council International is the governing organization for the Confucius Institutes. Preference is given to institutes located in business districts where there is a large flow of people and a convenient transportation system. Institutes are provided with teaching patterns and curriculum products as the main teaching resources to assist them in their mission.

All Confucius Institutes have a Chinese university partner to assist with Institute organization and oversight. Valparaiso University’s partner is Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT), a public institution with approximately 35,000 students. ZJUT, the top university in the Zhejiang province, was founded in 1910 as a technological school, became a college in 1953 and eventually a comprehensive technical university in 1993. Located in the urban city of Hangzhou, ZJUT hosts a variety of engineering programs and colleges including medical science, humanities, foreign language, art and law. With the newly-established Confucius Institute, Valparaiso University continues its two decade-strong exchange relationship with ZJUT, with a Hangzhou study center and the opportunity for students and faculty to visit partner institutions.