Monday 26 September 2016

 

As part of an official visit to China, Jo Johnson, the UK’s Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, witnessed the signing of new education collaboration agreements between the UK and China, before addressing Chinese students at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) on Thursday 22 September.

During a tour of the university, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the minister witnessed the signing of six new agreements to deepen collaboration in research, innovation and higher education between the UK and China. 

The agreements will see UK education institutions working closely with their counterparts in China to establish new and expand existing education initiatives (see appendix). The British Council, Universities UK International, and the Excellence League of China announced their joint intention to establish a consortium of UK and Chinese institutions focusing on science and technology. It will support staff and postgraduate student mobility between the UK and China, encourage joint research projects, and develop university-industry links, which will support both countries’ industrial ambitions. 

The UK is already China’s leading partner in transnational education, with nearly 270 joint programmes enabling more than 57,000 students to study towards UK qualifications in China each year. The new agreements demonstrate and further strengthen the UK’s leading position and reputation in China’s education market.

 In a speech to students at XJTLU, Jo Johnson highlighted the UK’s commitment to international engagement with China: “We want to work with China to address the challenges in education, to develop globally aware citizens equipped with the skills and cultural understanding that is essential in today’s increasingly international economy.”

 Following his speech, the Minister met with a number of British students studying and undertaking internships in China as part of the British Council’s Generation UK – China programme, which supports British students in gaining international skills and experience in China. An agreement between the British Council, XJTLU, and financial services provider Gold Finance, signed during the minister’s visit, will create further opportunities for British students to gain experience in China through a new scholarship programme for UK students to study film and TV arts in China.

 

Notes to Editor

New Education Collaboration Agreements

1.Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council, Universities UK International (UUKi), and Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education on a world-class university initiative focusing on joint research, joint PhD, and doctoral training.

2.Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council, Universities UK International (UUKi), and the Excellence League of China on forming UK-China consortium partnerships in science and technology focusing on research, joint talent development and innovation.

3.Agreement between the British Council, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and Gold Finance Suzhou to launch a scholarship for British students to study film and TV arts, or take part in a film festival, at XJTLU. 

4.Agreement between Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and Jiangyin City Government to collaborate on setting up of a vocational college linked to Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

5.Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Reading and Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology on expanding the existing Reading-NUIST through joint master and PhD programmes with a focus on meteorology. 

6.Agreement between the University of Sheffield and Nanjing Tech University on establishing a joint institute in financial mathematics, materials, physics and chemistry. 

 

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. Using the UK’s cultural resources we make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.

We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications.

Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. The majority of our income is raised delivering a range of projects and contracts in English teaching and examinations, education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. Eighteen per cent of our funding is received from the UK government.

 

 
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