Shanghai Government and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission are planning to establish a joint university, Shanghai International University of the Arts (SIUA) with independent legal entity, specialising in arts subjects. SIUA aims to introduce high-quality arts education resources from first-class education providers, linking Shanghai’s arts industry resource, to enhance the city’s strength in the art’s profession.  

Shanghai Municipal Education Commission is looking for a suitable UK higher education institution to jointly set up SIUA.

Level:

Undergraduate and Postgraduate

Expected subject focus:

It is proposed that SIUA will have five schools and the following degrees:

  1. Design School (Product design, fashion design, space design, packaging design, interaction design, etc.)
  2. Digital Media School (New media art design, film and television special effects design, soundscape design, etc.)
  3. School of Public Art (Social design, urban renewal, display design, environmental sculpture modelling, public facility design, etc.)
  4. Art School (Painting, sculpture, illustration, restoration of cultural relics, hand-made art of intangible heritage, etc.)
  5. School of Art Education and Management (Art history and art theory, art education management, art operation and management, art finance and investment, etc.)

The plan is to start with one school with a preference for the Design School.

Possible Chinese partner institutions:

  1. Shanghai University, www.shu.edu.cn
  2. Donghua University, http://english.dhu.edu.cn/mainm.htm

Ambitions from Shanghai:

This first campus with building space of approximately 40,000 square meters including four buildings located in the Shanghai CBD. Eventually SIUA aims to set up 4-5 campuses across the city.

Enrolment target: first campus 2,000 students for first batch for full-time and short-term programmes, with the aim of 10,000 students in the long run across the total of five campuses.

Areas of responsibility for the two collaborating partners:

The selected UK partners will be expected to:

  • Jointly develop the curriculum
  • Provide support in the quality assurance of the programmes
  • Provide guidance and support for the teaching (including academic resources)
  • Support in building up the brand and reputation of the joint university.

Shanghai Government and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission will:

  • Ensure compliance with all necessary regulations for formally approved transnational education programmes in China
  • Identify a local partner university which will meet the UK’s requirement for partnership
  • Build up a team dedicated to this project
  • Ensure the university premises will be ready at the start of the negotiation
  • Provide financial support for running the university, regular financial support after enrolment begins
  • Policy support as provided to local universities in Shanghai will be provided to the joint university.
  • All responsibilities to be discussed during the negotiation stage

Requirements for UK institution:

  • Institutions with demonstrable experience and expertise in teaching Arts related degrees will be considered.

Consideration for UK institution:

  • Establish a long-term partnership with Shanghai government
  • Link with the creative industry in Shanghai, which may lead to further industry partnerships
  • Raise international profile and possibly, increase recruitment influence in China.

Timeline:

Shanghai expects to start recruiting in 2022 but exact timings will depend on discussion and negotiation between partners.

Action required:

UK universities interested in this opportunity should contact British Council China to learn more. Discussion and negotiation will be between the UK institution and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission directly with support from the British Council as required.

In addition, UK institutions interested in this project are advised to undertake in-depth due diligence to assess costs of pursuit, initial investments required and long-term economic viability.

For further information, please contact:

Xiaoxiao Liu – Head of Insights and Consultancy, British Council China – Xiaoxiao.Liu@britishcouncil.org.cn