CIBT Launches Hotel Management Programs with Open University of China

VANCOUVER, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ - CIBT Education Group Inc. (NYSE AMEX and TSX symbol: MBA) ("CIBT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a cooperation agreement has been signed with Open University of China or "OUC" (previously known as China's Central Radio Television University or "CCRTVU") to launch a series of "International Hotel Management Education and Training Programs" through OUC's education system across China.  This cooperation agreement includes a comprehensive review of curriculum, textbooks, instructors and the teaching system published by the American Hotel and Lodging Association Educational Institute (AHLA-EI) to be conducted by OUC personnel. CIBT is the exclusive representative for AHLA-EI for China and the Philippines. CIBT and OUC signed a Cooperation Framework in 2009, and this cooperation agreement marks the first official launch of the program.

A party of 14 senior officials attended the signing ceremony including Mr. Shaogang Zhang, Deputy Party Secretary of OUC, Mr. Yanjun Zhou, Director of OUC Continuing Studies, Ms. Yang Liu, Program Manager of OUC and other senior officials of OUC including the Director of OUC Media and Marketing, Director of OUC External Cooperation and Exchanges.  From CIBT, Mr. Summit Wu, Vice President of CIBT and Mr. Victor Yang, General Manager of AHLA Education Institute China attended the signing ceremony.

During the ceremony, Mr. Shaogang Zhang described the development mission of OUC, "In 2009, OUC defined its future strategic development plans and identified six projects and six plans.  The focus was to advance international cooperation programs and non-degree vocational certification education across the OUC system and its 3.2 million students.  After thorough research and exploration, OUC has decided to adopt the International Hotel Management Education and Training Program offered by CIBT as one of its career-oriented programs.  This cooperation will introduce the world-renowned AHLA-EI hotel management and vocational education system widely recognized by the global hotel industry. The mutual objective of OUC and CIBT is to nurture and educate global talent through OUC's national broadcasting system and to meet the increasing local and international demand for hotel industry professionals. OUC will continue to support international cooperation and exchanges and is confident about the prospects of this cooperation."

"Following the successful launch of the International Hotel Management Education and Training Program, CIBT will utilize its high quality global education network and resources to further expand mutual benefits," commented Mr. Summit Wu, Vice President of CIBT China.  Mr. Wu also commented at the meeting that "Under the principle of mutual benefits, OUC and CIBT will utilize each other's educational resources and strategic advantages to exchange new educational philosophies, management techniques, and proven business models to expand the education scope, improve teaching quality, and expand their impact on the global education market."

"We are very pleased with the opportunity to cooperate with China's largest university system, the Open University of China," commented Toby Chu, President and CEO, Vice Chairman of CIBT Education Group. "By utilizing OUC's massive network of colleges and universities, CIBT will be able to fulfill its core business objective of exporting Western education to Asia at a much faster pace with credible, reputable local support, and available infrastructure at over 2,800 locations across China."

On December 14th, 2010, OUC and CIBT China jointly organized the International Hotel Management Program Seminar exclusively for the OUC network of universities and colleges. During the seminar, 26 Presidents from the OUC network attended and exchanged ideas on recruiting channels, course articulation, local and international career programs, among other topics of discussion. OUC and CIBT agreed that 15 of the OUC colleges will start recruitment for the program in the Spring of 2011, followed by additional seminars and introductions to the entire OUC network over time.

About Open University of China (OUC) (formally China Central Radio Television University

Established in 1979, Open University of China is a college university directly under the Ministry of Education (MOE). OUC is a distance education learning provider utilizing the latest in innovation and technology to deliver programs to its students. In collaboration with 44 other provincial open universities, 956 municipal open universities, and 1,875 county-level open universities, OUC's system of schools has a student population of 3.2 million students, of which 2.87 million are open learning students, totalling 10% of all post-secondary students in China as of the Spring of 2009.

About CIBT Education Group:

CIBT Education Group is an education management company focused on the global education market. Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE Amex, CIBT Group owns and operates a network of business, technical and language colleges as well as having cooperative joint programmes at over 70 locations in 18 countries. Its subsidiaries include Sprott-Shaw Community College (established in 1903), Sprott-Shaw Degree College, CIBT School of Business China, and King George International College. Through these subsidiaries, CIBT Group offers Western and Chinese accredited business and management degrees, and programmes in college preparation, automotive maintenance, information technology, hotel management and tourism, English language training, English teacher certification, and other career/vocational training.

In addition to its wholly-owned subsidiaries, CIBT Group is the exclusive licensee for the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute (ALHA-EI) in China and the Philippines, and the WyoTech Automotive Institute for China. CIBT also owns Irix Design Group, a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada. In 2008, the Irix Design Group was ranked 15th in the list of biggest ad agencies in Greater Vancouver by the "Business in Vancouver" newspaper.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Toby Chu" 

Toby Chu

Vice-Chairman, President & CEO 

Neither the NYSE Amex nor the Toronto Stock Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE CIBT Education Group Inc.

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