Hanban provides a grant for the establishment of the Confucius Institute at the University of Heidelberg

Project narrative

On June 16, 2006, the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and the University of Heidelberg signed an agreement to establish the Confucius Institute at the University of Heidelberg (CI-UH). As part of the agreement, Hanban is obligated to provide teaching materials, an annual fund, and numbers of Chinese instructors. The funds are dispersed through a local Bank of China account or other approved bank account created by the institute. The agreement has a 5-year validity and automatically renews at the end of every 5-year term. In July 2009, the University of Heidelberg and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (上海交通大学), the cooperating partner, signed a supplementary implementation agreement. The Shanghai Jiao Tong University agreed to provide one or two visiting scholars annually, donate teaching materials, and receive student study groups. The Confucius Institute was officially established in September 2009 and officially opened on April 10, 2010. The Heidelberg city government provided free office and teaching space for the Confucius Institute. The companies, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Freudenberg & Co. KG, and ProMinent AG, provided long-term funding for the Confucius Institute.