The first ever UK-China Education Policy Week, organised by the British Council, took place between 14 and 19 March 2016. More than 1,000 education experts and interested parties from across the UK and China gathered in Beijing for a series of exchanges on the mutually agreed themes of excellence, employability and entrepreneurship in education.

Events during the week highlighted expertise from across the UK’s education sectors, and keynote speakers represented UK institutions at all levels and from a range of cities, including Cardiff, Coventry, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham and many more.

The UK-China Education Policy Week was supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Quality Assurance Agency, the International Unit, and the Association of Colleges.

Major Outcomes

Announcement of the Beijing Statement

The Beijing Statement, a set of principles aimed at further enhancing collaboration and quality assurance in transnational education, was announced. It is the first such transnational statement of principles globally, and was developed jointly by the British Council, the Quality Assurance Agency, and the International Unit, in consultation with the UK sector and a number of organisations in China.

Alliance on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education

A commitment was made to take forward a joint UK-China Alliance on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, involving the Tsinghua University-led ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Alliance of China’ and key UK equivalents, to bring leading enterprise universities and businesses together for UK-China collaboration.

Opportunities for UK-China Collaboration

Across each of the events that took place during the week, many other institutional, transnational, and sector-to-sector opportunities were identified and are now being pursued. These areas for collaboration emerged under three key overarching themes: quality not quantity, region-to-region links, and education-industry partnerships.

2016 Education UK Alumni Awards

The week concluded on a celebratory note with the 2016 Education UK Alumni Awards. Now in their second year in China, the awards honour the outstanding achievements of UK alumni in China and their contribution to the UK-China relationship. Recipients were announced in three award categories: Professional Achievement, Social Impact and Entrepreneurial.