诺丁汉大学----宁波

Briefing on the University of Nottingham’s Links with China

Introduction - A Short History of the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China

The University of Nottingham’s links with China date back for many years with well over 90 collaborations with Chinese universities. This has resulted in the historic development of a campus on the East coast of China, in the prosperous and successful city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.

A state-of-the-art £20 million campus occupying 144 acres was built in 12 months. The total number of students as at October 2008 is 3,666 (282 masters students and 3,384 undergraduate students). The total international student numbers are 170. International students come from 25 different countries and regions. This year, undergraduate students were recruited from 23 different provinces in China Students recruited through the Gao Koa (1052) all had level 1 attainment. The University was also is permitted to recruit app 50 Chinese students via its own direct entry examination procedures. The total student population is planned to grow to 7000 to 8,000 over the next five years.

In 1999 the University elected academician Professor Yang Fujia and in July 2003, new legislation in China was passed permitting the establishment of foreign campuses in China. The University of Nottingham was the first foreign university to receive a licence to operate a campus under this legislation.

Building on huge international commitment, and including its already successful campus in Malaysia, the University has put itself at the forefront of global education.

The Campus

The University of Nottingham signed an MOU with the Wanli Education Group in March 2004, with political support at municipal, provincial and national levels, the campus opened with its first 250 foundation year students in September 2004, in temporary accommodation provided by the partners. These students graduated in July 2008 and their degree classifications were similar to those expected for students taking their entire degree at Nottingham. 94% were either employed or going on to further study by the end of August. In November 2008 the third cohort of postgraduate masters students graduated with similar rates of high employment.

Tony Blair gave support for this project in September 2005 when he appeared on Chinese television to participate in a live link-up for a question and answer session with students and staff at Ningbo. Mr Blair praised Nottingham’s joint venture as contributing significantly to international understanding and collaboration.

The campus was official opened by the Deputy Prime Minister at the time, John Prescott in February 2006. Amongst the powerful Chinese figures who attended the opening were the country’s Education Minister Zhou Ji, State Councillor Madam Chen Zhilli, both of whom serve in the national cabinet. Also, present were senior figures from regional economic development in the UK and national and business enterprise interests were represented by a delegation from the China-Britain Business Council and Chinese counterparts.

The Degree Programmes

The original degree programmes launched in 2004 have been specifically tailored to meet the needs of 21st century China, as it globalises and internationalises. International Business, International Communications and International Studies, excellence in English as well as the opportunity to study other aspects of European languages and cultures, will make a significant contribution to the needs of Chinese and international public and private sectors. In 2007 the range of subjects expanded in the areas of sustainable and renewable energy, a new Bachelor of Engineering in Architectural Environmental Engineering and a range of courses offered in English Studies. In 2008 courses in Civil, Mechanical and Environmental engineering were added. Applications have been made to the Province to start degrees in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Environmental Sciences and an MBA will recruit its first students in September 2009.

The University also runs a range of taught Masters Degrees.

All of the degree teaching on the campus is carried out in English by staff either seconded from Nottingham or appointed internationally to the University of Nottingham’s standards.

The degrees awarded are Nottingham degrees. The courses and teaching are subject to the same quality assurance procedures as courses and teaching at Nottingham, and the China campus, as well as the campus in Malaysia, were included in the successful QAA Institutional Audit of the University in 2005.

The costs of studying at the China campus is approximately half the UK international fee, and living costs in China are considerably lower than in the UK, bringing a UK education to students who could not necessarily afford to study overseas.

The University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China recruits first-class undergraduate students in China who normally have achieved excellent overall scores in the Chinese University Entrance Exam (equivalent to the first rank Chinese university scores). It recruits masters students directly

Mobility Opportunities

There are opportunities to study abroad at Nottingham and also at other overseas universities, especially those in Nottingham’s global network of educational partners. There are 232 students studying at Nottingham from the Ningbo campus this year for a semester or a full year. Over the summer, Ningbo students have the option of spending a 6 week period in Nottingham to study for a certificate in British Studies or for postgraduates to work on their dissertations. In summer 2008, 223 students attended.

To create a truly international campus, the University is working towards a target of 25% international students engaging in mobility of one type or another. Within this 25% will be students from the University of Nottingham, UK, who will study abroad for a semester or a year in order to give them exposure to China at an historic period in its relations with the West. Many of these students are reading ‘Chinese Studies’ degrees.

Research and Development

The University is now placing emphasis on research and development, working to achieve a synergy between some of its research strengths and China’s priorities and, in particular, those of the city of Ningbo and Zhejiang province. There are a number of active research centres and the R&D strategy is to strengthen these with associated postgraduate courses and research supervision, and to significantly expand its already successful fund-raising in China.

The University has also encouraged a research and development relationship between the City of Nottingham and the East Midlands region and their counterparts in China. A twinning agreement has been agreed, and it will explore areas of mutual benefit with companies UK-wide. The University is working closely with RCUK to increase research funding. A number of successful bids to China research funders have been made. The China campus is regularly holding high profile conferences and recently launched the Ningbo branch of the Nottingham Leverhulme Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre. The Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies was officially opened in September. The building, based on the shape of a Chinese lantern will provide a world-leading research laboratory for staff and postgraduate students working on alternative energy solutions for both domestic and non-domestic buildings.

Other links with China

Other links in China range from joint collaborations on research projects, to various e-learning projects to joint teaching programmes. For example, in partnership with Fudan and Shanghai Jiao Tong universities, a joint Bioscience Laboratory has been established in Shanghai. This was opened in 2001 by Lord Sainsbury and facilitates collaboration in the important area of plant science. It also promotes training and research exchanges for students and staff.

The University has recently signed an agreement to host a Confucius Institute, also partnering with Fudan University. It will be responsible for promoting Chinese language and culture.
A HEFCE funded e-China project, a Sino-UK collaborative e-learning initiative, is being undertaken in the School of Education. The aim of the project is to produce e-learning modules in areas of language, culture & methodology at secondary level and, to produce e-learning courseware at tertiary level, thereby contributing to the continuing professional development of teachers. The project involves collaboration with Beijing Normal University and Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Academics have worked together across disciplines to establish a Foundation Year programme at Tsinghua University which is now in its second year of operation. The programme, taught in English, leads to specific courses at Nottingham.

The University has special relationships with several other universities in China, such as Beijing Foreign Studies University, Wuhan University, Shanghai International Studies University and Hunan University, providing training programmes for their academic staff, conducting joint research across the Arts, Law and Social Science, and developing joint courses.

In addition to these links the University is also a member of the Universitas 21 which also has Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Hong Kong and Peking universities as members. The University recruits over 1,000 Chinese students to its UK campus every year and has a School of Contemporary Chinese Studies within which exists the China Policy Institute a think tank established to analyse key challenges faced by China in its rapid development and to improve the understanding of contemporary China in Britain, Europe and worldwide.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Sir Colin Campbell, has been a member of the UK Government’s China Task Force since it was established in 2003. It is now chaired by Alistair Darling.