The University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica) has entered into a two-year agreement with the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) in the Ministry of Education in Beijing, China, for the provision of Chinese language educators to the university beginning in September 2026.

The contract was inked during an official signing ceremony on Friday, June 5, 2026, at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) Hotel at UTech, Jamaica’s Papine Campus.

Under the agreement, CLEC – the chief agency within China’s Ministry of Education responsible for streamlining global language education services, will recruit and provide UTech, Jamaica with qualified Chinese language educators to help the university expand its foreign language offerings. UTech, Jamaica will provide teaching facilities, accommodation, medical coverage, office support and other resources necessary to facilitate the delivery of Chinese language instruction at the institution.

The partnership will see the onboarding of a Chinese language educator from China delivering Mandarin at the university at the start of the 2026/2027 academic year.  The course delivery will be facilitated through the Language Teaching and Research Centre (LTRC) within the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies (FELS). The LTRC is the unit responsible for coordinating language teaching and academic literacy programmes at UTech, Jamaica. In addition to Mandarin Chinese, the Centre also offers Spanish, Japanese and French as foreign languages along with Academic Writing modules to students across all faculties.

Mrs. Campbell-Dawes, Head, LTRC, explained, “It is our hope that with the onboarding of this new lecturer, we will be able to offer in addition to basic Mandarin, intermediate and advanced Mandarin courses to our students in the future.”  She noted that the team is also optimistic about offering short courses in Conversational Mandarin through UTechOpen: School of Lifelong Learning and Professional Development.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ambassador Lloyd Carney, Chancellor, University of Technology, Jamaica, who initiated the initiative through the Embassy of China in Jamaica, underscored the significance of strengthening ties between Jamaica and China through language education and academic cooperation. Pointing to China’s leadership in areas such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, battery technology and artificial intelligence, Ambassador Carney noted that UTech, Jamaica must build strong relationships with China and its institutions to enhance the university’s research, innovation and technological capacity.

“There is no field of science that you can look at where the Chinese are not a significant, if not a dominant, player. As a technical university, we must partner with the country that is the most dominant player in the marketplace across numerous technologies,” the Chancellor noted.

Ambassador Carney further stated that beyond the academic agreement, China and Jamaica need to work more closely to “share more technical know-how on technical discovery”. He noted that the signing of the agreement is a step in the right direction and thanked the Chinese delegation for collaborating with the university.

In his remarks, Dr. Kevin Brown, President, University of Technology, Jamaica, shared that the partnership signals the university’s commitment to preparing graduates with multilingual competencies who can compete in an interconnected global environment.

“We want to produce the total student and by that we mean not just a student that is technically capable, but a student that also has other multifaceted skill sets, such as being multilingual,” Dr. Brown stated.

“That is why having this Chinese language programme is so important. We want our students to learn other languages and to have a range of skills that will allow them to be high-quality graduates when they leave,” he added.

The President also shared that Chinese language courses will be extended to persons beyond UTech, Jamaica through the university’s UTechOpen: School of Lifelong Learning and Professional Development.

With the impending establishment of the country’s National Artificial Intelligence Lab at the university, Dr. Brown stated that the partnership with CLEC also provides an opportunity for research in artificial intelligence and language studies.

“UTech will be the host for the national AI lab. We have a very strong computer science programme…there’s a lot of work to be done around AI and languages, and so I’m sure the researchers in our Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies (FELS) will be looking at how we can incorporate more AI language research at UTech,” he said.

Mr. Ding Liguo, Director, Division of International Exchanges, Centre for Language Education and Cooperation, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting Chinese language education in Jamaica.

“We are a professional organisation committed to helping our foreign partners learn the Chinese language and also to carry out Chinese language teaching programmes,” he stated, adding, “The agreement is just the beginning of our cooperation. There must be deeper cooperation between us in the future.” Mr. Liguo also commended the university leaders for consistently striving to achieve the institution’s educational philosophy.