The UK and China have agreed to establish an alliance to boost the development and management of high-quality joint transnational education (TNE) institutes.
Jointly initiated and supported by the British Council and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), representatives from 14 universities in the UK and 17 universities in China met on Monday (30 October 2017) to discuss the operational principles of the alliance, which will be officially launched later in the year.
The UK-China Joint Institute Alliance will provide a platform for alliance members to discuss joint issues and share best practice concerning the management and operation of existing joint institutes, such as quality assurance, student experience and talent management.
It will also act as a platform to identify directions for future collaboration among alliance members, such as joint research and publications in shared priority areas, and leverage on emerging opportunities, such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Furthermore, it will allow alliance members to pursue multi-lateral exchanges, joint curriculum development, and faculty recruitment and training, thereby promoting the quality of teaching in TNE and ensuring a high-quality student experience.
Jazreel Goh, Director Education China at the British Council, said:
“The UK-China Joint Institute Alliance marks an important milestone for transnational education between our two countries. By working together, we will not only maintain our already world-leading provision of transnational education, we will also ensure that moving forward our joint programmes and institutes remain relevant and equip students with the kind of high-quality qualifications that open exciting career opportunities.”
The UK and China are leading partners in the field of transnational education, with more than 275 degree-level joint initiatives approved by the Ministry of Education, including more than 20 initiatives at the postgraduate-level. In 2015/16, these initiatives enabled nearly 65,000 students to gain UK qualifications in Mainland China.
* Members List of the UK-China Joint Institute Alliance (as of August 2017)
Joint Institute | UK Partner | Chinese Partner | |
1 | Bangor College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology | Bangor University | Central South University of Forestry and Technology |
2 | Birmingham Institute of Fashion and Creative Art , Wuhan Textile University | Birmingham City University | Wuhan Textile University |
3 | China Medical University – The Queen’s University of Belfast Joint College | Queen’s University of Belfast | China Medical University |
4 | Jinan University- University of Birmingham Joint Institute at Jinan University | University of Birmingham | Jinan University |
5 | Faculty of International Media, Communication University of China | Nottingham Trent University | China University of Communications |
6 | Glasgow College, UESTC | University of Glasgow | University of Electronic Science and Technology China |
7 | HBU-UCLan School of Media, Communication and Creative Industries | University of Central Lancashire | Hebei University |
8 | Joint Institute of Nanjing Tech University and the University of Sheffield, Nanjing Tech University | University of Sheffield | Nanjing Tech University |
9 | Lancaster University College at Beijing Jiaotong University | University of Lancaster | Beijing Jiaotong University |
10 | Leicester International Institute, Dalian University of Technology | University of Leicester | Dalian University of Technology |
11 | Liaoning University Xinhua International Business School | De Montfort University | Liaoning University |
12 | Nankai University - University of Glasgow Joint Graduate School | University of Glasgow | Nankai University |
13 | NUIST Reading Academy | University of Reading | Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology |
14 | Queen Mary University of London Engineering School, Northwestern Polytechnical University | Queen Mary University of London | Northwestern Polytechnical University |
15 | Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation, Donghua University | University of Edinburgh | Donghua University |
16 | Sino-British College, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology | Leeds Metropolitan, Liverpool John Moores, Manchester Metropolitan, and Sheffield Hallam University, and the universities of Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Salford, and Sheffield | University of Shanghai for Science and Technology |
17 | Surrey International Institute, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics | University of Surrey | Dongbei University of Finance and Economics |
18 | SWJTU-Leeds Joint School | University of Leeds | Southwest Jiaotong University |
19 | ZJU- UoE Institute, Zhejiang University | University of Edinburgh | Zhejiang University |