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The network

496
institutes

CIM belongs to the largest Chinese language network in the world. Almost nobody looking for a Chinese course knows that, because we never say it.

In one line

Our biggest asset is the one we never use.

It costs nothing to start using it. It is already true.

496

institutes worldwide

160

countries and regions

2

left in the Netherlands: us and Groningen

0

places we mention this on our own channels

Why it matters here

A student picking a course wants proof it is real.

Every other provider we scanned is a school or a freelancer. We are a university partnership inside a network of 496. That is the one thing none of them can copy, and it is missing from every page, poster and post we have.

What to do with it

01Say it once, everywhereone line on every page
02Name the university, not the networkpeople trust Zuyd
03Use it as proof, not as a storyone number, no essay

The competitor

Groningen is already doing this.

GCI is the only other institute in the country. It sells language, culture and business as three pillars, it is partnered with the city and two universities, and it now teaches in Amsterdam and The Hague as well as Groningen.

So the window is open now, not next year. If the Randstad gets used to one Confucius Institute, it will not be ours.

The opening

No institute anywhere names its teachers.

We checked the network. Business programmes, cultural centres, award winners: not one of them puts a teacher's name and face in front. Our own students put teaching quality first and name their teacher, never the institute.

Star Teacher is not a nice idea. It is the only thing on this list that nobody else in 160 countries has taken.

What the others sell

Business ChineseLondon, Paris: executives and firms
Government ChineseKinshasa: inside a diplomatic academy
Culture and communityDublin, London South Bank: schools, events
A named teachernobody

Two subjects worth naming

Business Chinese and Chinese for working adults.

Both are half there already: INSIDE CHINA covers business for Zuyd students, and Rotterdam already draws working adults. Elsewhere in the network they are sold as subjects anyone can sign up for, so there is a template to copy rather than a thing to invent. Neither is a decision for this month.

Be ready for the other question

Confucius Institutes get asked about Chinese influence.

Dozens closed in the US, Canada and Europe over concerns about academic freedom. Leiden closed in 2019. That is the reason, not teaching quality, and it will come up in a press question or a partner meeting.

Answer it plainly when it is asked. Do not build the brand around it.

Next

The three brand routes →

Where the network sits in the name is decided there, not here.

Sources and limits

Network numbers: CIEF, December 2023 Institute profiles: their own public pages Model Institute criteria: to confirm with CIEF

Confucius Institute · Buro Frontier · network analysis