ELS Educational Services signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jiangsu University on December 13 to establish a language center at the university.
The MoU was signed at the FCS conference room. Mr Hanscom Smith, the US consul-general in Shanghai attended the signing ceremony. Three media outlets participated in the event. Three articles (One in Chinese and two in English) have been published.
The reports are as followed:
ELS Educational Services signs MoU with Jiangsu University
Published on国际教育风云录（International Education Record）
Social media account run by Shanghai United Media Group
Number of subscribers: 17,000
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s__biz=MzA5NzY1OTMyMA==&mid=2650705399&idx=1&sn=
After months of preparation, ELS Educational Services signed a MoU with Jiangsu University at the American Consulate General in Shanghai on December 13. Mr Mallik R. Sundharam, Vice President of ELS Educational Services and Dr. Prof. Ren Xiaofei Director of Language and Culture Center, Dean of School of Liberal Arts from Jiangsu University signed the MoU. Mr Hanscom Smith, the US consul-general in Shanghai and Mr. Frank Joseph, commercial consul witnessed this historical moment.
This MoU means the beginning of strategical cooperation between ELS Educational Services and Chinese universities. The ELS language center at Jiangsu University will be opened in June 2016.
ELS教育服务集团与江苏大学签署合作谅解备忘录
（图片来源：美国驻上海总领事馆）
经过几个月的精心准备，2016年12月13日，ELS教育服务与江苏大学合作谅解备忘录签约仪式在美国驻上海总领事馆举行。ELS副总裁 Mr. Mallik Sundharam与江苏大学文化学院院长、语言文化中心主任任晓霏博士签署了本次合作谅解备忘录。美国驻上海总领事馆总领事Mr. Hanscom Smith和商务领事Mr. Frank Joseph等人见证了这一历史性时刻。
随着全球社会的发展，英语已经作为一门国际化的语言，在人们生活中扮演着越来越重要的角色，它不仅在商务会展、学术研讨等领域被广泛使用，甚至一些外企将英语作为一种必备技能。
自1961年成立以来，ELS教育服务公司在全球已经开设超过70 个语言中心，形成了世界上最大的以校园为基础的英语语言学习中心网络。经过50多年的发展，中心已为100万国际学生提供服务，为提高学生的英语水平，开启了美国、澳大利亚、加拿大、马来西亚和印度等国高等教育的国际通道。
现在，新建立ELS语言中心走进江苏大学，不仅为学校教师、有志于出国留学的学生提供英语培训，还为国际来华（非英语母语国家的）留学生提供语言培训/发展计划。同时，新设的ELS语言中心也将开展海外学习计划，为江苏大学教职工和学生提供包括短期交换/暑期项目等合作机会。
这是ELS在中国签署的第一份与中国大学的合作谅解备忘录，也是ELS一块重要的里程碑，标志着其与中国著名大学战略合作的开始。据悉，江苏大学ELS语言中心计划将于2017年6月开放，双方会在未来几月内达成相关合作条款。
什么是ELS？
美国ELS是全球最大的进驻大学校园的英语教育机构。ELS语言课程一共设置为12个等级，学生经过英语测评后，按照听、说、读、写不同水平，进入相应层次学习，一步步“升级”，最后达到他们需要的英语水平。
完成ELS最高等级的学生，能够获得美国超过650所大学的认可，等同于获得了托福或者雅思成绩。
ELS signs landmark agreement with local university
By Yu Ran in Shanghai | China Daily USA | Updated: 2016-12-16 10:41
Published on China Daily
China’s national English-language daily
Estimated daily circ.: 200, 000
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2016-12/16/content_27689634.htm
ELS Educational Services, an American English language and educational program provider, and Jiangsu University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Dec 13 to enhance their exchange of talents.
This is the first time ELS is partnering a Chinese university to provide on-campus English training to both Chinese and foreign students.
According to the MoU, an ELS language center will be established within the Jiangsu University campus in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. The institute is ranked among the top 50 universities in China and has an Essential Science Indicators (ESI) rating. The language center will offer language training to international and Chinese students who want to study abroad.
Students will be first assessed by specialized tests before being placed in one of the 12 proficiency levels in the program. Over 650 universities across the United States, Canada and Australia recognize ELS Level 112, the highest level of English language proficiency that is similar to IELTS and TOEFL tests.
ELS will also leverage its extensive network to help Jiangsu University recruit more international students. More than 1.25 million international students have been admitted to US universities through ELS programs in the past 55 years, according to ELS statistics.
Hanscom Smith, the US consul-general in Shanghai, said at the signing ceremony that this MoU will let ELS serve as a bridge for Jiangsu University to fulfill the educational goals of students from around the world.
Statistics show that more than 300,000 Chinese students were studying in the US in the most recent academic year that ended, an 8 percent increase from the previous year. China remains the largest single source of international students studying in the US, with Chinese citizens accounting for 30 percent of international students, according to figures from US Consulate General Shanghai.
"To make the US-China relationship work in the future, we need students who will benefit from this cooperation between ELS and Jiangsu University," said Smith.
Mallik Sundharam, vice president of Business Development of ELS, added that an increasing number of international students are choosing China as a destination for overseas study.
"For non-native English speakers, the ELS training center can be a great help. This strategic cooperation is also part of our efforts in expanding their recruitment network in an emerging market," said Sundharam.
ELS is also planning to set up more centers in other regions in China in the years to come. These centers will be designed based on the cooperation model with Jiangsu University.
"This cooperation is consistent with the university's strategy of cultivating more global talents. I hope this win-win partnership can help the university attract more international talents," said Ren Xiaofei, director of language and culture centre and dean of school of liberal art, Jiangsu University.
Wu Yiwei contributed to this story.
yuran@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily USA 12/16/2016 page7)
ELS Educational Services and Jiangsu University work toward establishing joint language center
By Qi Xijia Source:Global Times Published: 2016/12/14 18:28:39
Major English newspaper in China under the government mouthpiece People’s Daily
Daily circ.: about 200, 000
Daily website hits: 3,000,000
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1023672.shtml
US Consul General Hanscom Smith witnesses the signing of MOU between Mallik Sundharam from ELS (left) and Ren Xiaofei from Jiangsu University (right). Photo: Courtesy of the Consulate General of US in Shanghai
The experience to get outside of your own culture and country to challenge yourself with a new language and different world perspectives is vital to the future of our shrinking global community.
To facilitate this, ELS Educational Services and Jiangsu University recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the US Consulate General in Shanghai to work toward establishing a language center at Jiangsu University.
The new program will deliver English training and related services to incoming international students as well as to existing domestic and international students while enhancing Jiangsu University's worldwide brand recognition and international student recruitment ability via ELS' global recruitment network.
ELS was founded in 1961 with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. Over the past half century, ELS has helped over million international students successfully study English and obtain diplomas in the US. Its English for Academic Purposes program is now available on campuses in four continents.
This MOU is historic because it is the first such cooperation in China. It is also the first step for ELS to establish a language center on the campus of Jiangsu University, which will deliver English training to incoming international students as well as Chinese students.
"This MOU will let ELS serve as a bridge to Jiangsu University to fulfill the educational goals of students not just in China but all around the world," said Hanscom Smith, Consul General of the US in Shanghai, during his open remarks at the signing ceremony.
Rising proficiency
"The US-China relationship is the world's most important bilateral relationship. To make that relationship work in the future we need students who will benefit from the sorts of cooperation we see today established between ELS and Jiangsu University," Smith added.
During the 2016 academic year, over 300,000 students from China studied in the US, an 8 percent increase from the previous year, making students from China the single biggest group of foreign students in the US, accounting for 30 percent of all international students there, Smith explained.
Correspondingly, the overall English proficiency of Chinese students is also on the rise. "Students in China are very hardworking," remarked Mallik Sundharam, Vice President of Business Development for ELS Educational Services. "The level of English ability of students from China has increased largely in just the last 10 years."
Sundharam noticed that students from China have different levels of English depending on if they were raised in a developed metropolis or a rural region, thus requiring larger needs for English learning in less-developed cities and towns.
Meeting needs
To encourage this, ELS has specialized programs that adapt according to the interests, needs and backgrounds of individual student. Each year ELS holds over 40,000 weeks of lessons for Chinese students and has a structured curriculum that accommodates 12 levels of instruction.
The highest level of English certification from ELS is accepted by 650 universities in USA, Canada and Australia as a requirement for their English proficiency of higher education.
Students from different parts of the world are also choosing China more and more in recent years as an academic destination. According to statistics from the Institute of International Education, the number of international students in China has witnessed substantial growth over the past decade.
In 2015, China's total international student enrollment was 397,635, a 5 percent increase from 2014. South Korea, US and Thailand were the three-largest source countries of its international students.
"We hope to expand our recruitment network that we currently have in developing nations including emerging markets like Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal and India for students to come to China for higher education opportunities," said Sundharam.
Newspaper headline: Bridging exchange
Posted in: METRO SHANGHAI,CONSULATE
