Forth Valley College was delighted to host a distinguished delegation of senior education officials and leaders from Henan Province, China, on Thursday 25 September.
The group, comprising representatives from the Education Department of Henan Province and senior figures from universities, vocational colleges and schools across the region, visited FVC as part of their wider engagement with the UK’s education and skills sector.
During their visit, the delegation enjoyed an in-depth presentation from Jamie Allan, Global Partnership Manager at Forth Valley College, highlighting the College’s strengths in vocational education, international partnerships and its role in supporting Scotland’s transition to a net-zero economy.
The group then toured FVC’s Stirling Campus, where they saw first-hand the College’s cutting-edge facilities and innovative learning environments, before enjoying lunch at The Gallery Restaurant, the College’s award-winning training restaurant led by hospitality students and staff.
Principal Kenny MacInnes, Chair of the Board Abhishek Agarwal and Vice Principal of Business and Innovation Colin McMurray also met the delegation during lunch.
In the afternoon, the delegation continued their visit with a tour of the state-of-the-art Falkirk Campus, exploring specialist and unique facilities which support skills development across sectors including energy, STEM and construction.
The visit builds on FVC’s growing relationship with Chinese education partners in 2025. Earlier this year, FVC signed an MOU with Zhongyuan University of Technology and visited Henan province in June, where members of the College’s team travelled to strengthen links with vocational and higher education institutions across the Henan province as well as guest lecture in engineering. These reciprocal visits underline the commitment on both sides to fostering meaningful partnerships in technical and vocational education.
Furthermore, the Chinese Consul General in Edinburgh visited his first Scottish college when touring FVC in March this year.
Kenny MacInnes, FVC Principal, said: “I was delighted to welcome and meet so many distinguished education professionals from China recently and briefly discuss the exciting opportunities which could develop between us in the weeks and months to come. There certainly are strong joint project areas that we could work together on and I am excited about exploring these further.”
Jamie Allan, FVC Global Partnership Manager, said: “We were honoured to welcome colleagues from Henan Province to Forth Valley College and show them our beautiful, leading campuses. Their visit reflects the importance of international collaboration in education and skills, and we look forward to exploring opportunities for partnership which will benefit learners, staff and industry in both Scotland and China.”
The delegation included senior representatives from institutions such as the Henan Education Department, Yellow River Conservancy Technical University, Henan Vocational College of Agriculture, Zhengzhou Science & Technology Industrial School, and Zhengzhou Preschool Education College, among others.
Forth Valley College continues to strengthen its international reputation as a trusted partner in skills, training and innovation, sharing Scotland’s expertise in vocational education with global partners.
