The strategy to manage scholarships of foreign students studying in Chengdu under the one belt one road initiative

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the motivation of foreign students who have studied abroad and their attitude towards Chinese national image, Chinese universities, and Chinese scholarships. The research was conducted with ASEAN students at Chengdu University from 2016-2022 time periods by using mixed methods, combining quantitative survey methods with qualitative survey methods. From October to November 2021, 220 students answered questionnaires, and 10 relevant faculty members participated in the in-depth interviews. The researcher used descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and content analysis, to explain the data from questionnaires and interviews obtained. Based on the results of questionnaires and interviews, it could be concluded that ASEAN students had a positive impression of China's national image and believed that Chinese universities had a high reputation in countries along with the "Belt and Road". The findings also revealed that the ASEAN students highly recognized scholarships as their motivation in studying in China. In terms of scholarship management, the group of interviewees believed that scholarship management should be improved significantly in promoting scholarships, distributing scholarships, and administering scholarships. Furthermore, this study proposed the directions of how to optimize Chengdu University scholarship project management such as scholarship assessment management methods, management of the scholarship distribution process and follow-up management, and post-evaluation of scholarships for Chengdu University to improve its scholarship management in the future.