In May 2005, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the National Centre for Education Development and Research (NCEDR) of the Ministry of Education (MOE) signed an agreement to set up a 3-year programme to study China-UK National Policy on Higher Education Management. With the support from British Council, the project achieved great success.

The Programme brought together higher education experts and researchers from both countries to study and compare higher education management and governance in both countries. The success of the Programme culminated in a book titled National Policy on Higher Education Management: Collective Works under Sino-UK Collective Research Project. The book was published in Chinese by the Higher Education Press in April 2009. The English version is provided in this link.

According to the development needs of higher education on both sides and following the suggestions made by education experts, the British Council and NCEDR have agreed to set up another 3-year Programme (2009-2011) of co-operation on Higher Education Policy for Regional Development. This programme will help to achieve the aims of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding on Sino-UK Strategic Collaboration in Higher Education and the higher education section of the 2008 UK-China Framework Agreement on Educational Co-operation Partnership.

The objective of the project is for key higher education experts and researchers on both sides to study and compare policy and practice in the following areas:

Higher education’s role in regional development
National policy on decentralisation of higher education development in regions
Setting up a mechanism for higher education institutions’ autonomy and self-control
How higher education institutions are shaped by the expectations and needs of the regions they serve

China to UK Visit

From 22nd November to 5th December 2009, a group of 7 Chinese researchers visited a selection of UK institutions, including universities in Wales and England, Regional Development agencies, Government agencies, HEFCE and International Unit for Higher Education.  They also attended a 1.5-day workshop in Cardiff.

UK to China Visit

From 16 to 29 May 2010, a group of 7 UK researchers visited a selection of Chinese institutions, including Chinese Ministry of Education, higher education institutions and provincial education authorities. They also attended a 1.5-day conference in Ningbo on the theme of “Higher Education in Regional Development”.

Presentations by Chinese speakers(English version)
Presentation by British speakers

Chinese Delegation’s Visit to the UK

From 22 May to 4 June 2011, a delegation of eight Chinese higher education researchers visited nine UK higher education institutions. This visit constituted the third and last stage of the three-year programme of the UK-China Study of Higher Education Policy for Regional Development. The parties plan to host a joint conference to summarise and disseminate the research findings of the past three years and to discuss future collaboration plans.