Xiamen University has maintained a global presence since its creation in 1921, attracting students from overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia. The institution established an "Overseas Correspondence Courses" program in 1956 and accepted its first foreign students in 1981.[9] Xiamen University now has an extensive portfolio of international collaborations, including an International Cooperative Program for Innovative Talents funded by the China Scholarship Council, [10] and global exchange and cooperation relationships with over 300 universities such as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman[11] It has established 16 Confucius Institutes with partner institutions in 13 countries