The GALD cohort performing and recording their song
GALD stands for Global Academic Leadership Development, a professional development program offered at the University of Alberta and coordinated by UAlberta International for university administrators from China. It is a 3-month program that examines higher education management from an international comparative perspective. Since 2012, over 700 administrators/professors have participated in the program in 19 cohorts, representing close to 200 Chinese universities .
Dr. Runhua Wu, professor and Dean of Music from Gannan Normal University composed this song in the fall of 2018 (19th cohort) to commemorate their 3-month experience in Canada, and is featured on the piano in the video. The lyrics were written by poet, professor of poetry, and Associate Director of Research, Dr. Qiusheng Wang, from Beijing Language and Culture University. The English translation is provided by David Sulz, an academic librarian at UAlberta. The conductor in the video is music student Meijun Chen from UAlberta's Department of Music.
If we listen carefully, we can hear a bit of the Canadian anthem, the Chinese anthem and the Canadian/Albertan folk song, Four Strong Winds.