Prominent Gambian political expert and political science lecturer at the University of The Gambia, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, has been appointed as a part-time professor by the College of Foreign Languages at the Zhejiang Normal University in China.

The college is one of the 19 colleges at the provincial Chinese university, which offers up to 61 study programmes to students both in China and from across the world. It has a student population of 30,000, which includes over 3,000 international students.

As one of the foremost universities in China, the university reportedly has over 2,000 professors, which includes associate and full professors.

Located in Jinhua, southern part of Shanghai, China, the university has over the years been making efforts to open up to the wider world.

In recent years, links of academic exchange and cooperation have been set up between the university and tens of foreign universities and research institutes in over 40 countries. In 1996, it established a Center for Chinese Language and Culture in Cameroon.

This would be a plus to Dr Ceesay, who is already a renowned lecturer and academic, in addition to being an influential politician, who has been numerously designated as one of the most influential African youth leaders.

His appointment takes effect in June 2023 and shall expire in 2028.

Reacting to his appointment yesterday evening, Mr Ceesay tweeted: "Thank you Zhejiang Normal University. I am deeply honoured. This will certainly promote inter-institutional research, facilitate knowledge exchange, enhance Sino-Gambia relations and boost South-South cooperation."