On the 15th of December, 2016, Dr. Fahana Paruk, an African expert, was visited by the School of International Education (SIE) to give a lecture on "China-Africa Relations - Past, Present and Future" for the international students.

Dr. Fahana Paruk has a rich interdisciplinary and cross-boarder backgrounds: she has studied in some of the well-known universities in South Africa, the United States, Britain, Sweden and other countries; focusing her studies on international relations, specializing in China-Africa relations, she teaches at the University of South Africa and works for the South African government office. With MBA background, she also used to work for "BMW", doing market and communication work.

In her lecture, Dr. Paruk introduced three historical stages of the development of China-Africa relations since Ming Dynasty, from the perspectives of local African scholars. Further she analyzed the contemporary Chinese development model and its reference for African countries. At the end, she summarized some of the lessons that African countries can learn from China.

Dr. Paruk's lectures were enthusiastic, showing a wealth of informative materials such as pictures, figures and illustrations. Many of the international students in SIE come from African countries. It is very exciting and helpful for them that during their study in China, they can hear from African scholars to explain the history and current situation of China-Africa exchanges. One by one, the students declared the name of their country, and then introduced and shared their own national conditions and their personal perspectives, with the love and responsibility and hope onto their countries. In this way, an academic lecture evolved into a brainstorming of female development and national revitalization.