Week-long tour of educational engagement with partners old and new hailed a major success
Chinese graduates from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have been reunited in Beijing to help launch the University’s 190th celebrations.
Attended by over 100 alumni and friends of the University, the event formed part of a week-long tour of the country by the University’s senior management to visit established partners and rubber stamp exciting new initiatives.
The Beijing event also included a joint fashion show between UCLan and the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology with the catwalk music produced by Chinese students studying on the UCLan’s BA (Hons) Music Production.
Commenting on the alumni reunion, UCLan’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Liz Bromley said: “For over 30 years the University has enjoyed and excellent relationship with universities and colleges across China.
“Thousands of Chinese students have made the long trek to Lancashire to make Preston their home and those who attended our 190 alumni celebration event have great memories of their time spent at the University and the welcoming nature of the city’s local community.
“We are hoping to welcome some of them back to Preston later this year when many of our longstanding international partners will join us for our Founders’ Day celebrations.”
"Our success within China has been built on trust, mutual understanding and our ability to be innovative in positioning and differentiating UCLan as a leading international University."
The University’s tour of China also saw officials meet with their counterparts at Hebei University to discuss the ongoing development of the partners’ joint School of Media, Communication and Creative Industries. The School now has 650 students and will reach its full capacity of 800 in the coming academic year.
Already 65 students have completed part of their programme in Preston with future opportunities now agreed for students to study at postgraduate level.
Other highlights of the tour included:
- The annual awards ceremony at the Hong Kong College of Technology where over 150 graduates studying on UCLan validated programmes were in attendance
- Potential research collaboration with the ‘One Belt One Road’ Research Institute at Shenzhen University
- Programme development discussions at one of the UCLan’s oldest Chinese partners Guangdong University of Foreign Studies where each year over 80 students arrive at UCLan to study business and journalism
- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shenzhen Media Group to further expand a joint research project around social media
- A visit to Hunan Normal University, where a joint programme in sport and physical education has just been established. At full capacity the course will have 480 students, and it is expected that some of these will progress to UCLan for part of their undergraduate studies, or undertake Master’s courses.
- An update with Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (SUIBE) over the forthcoming 20th anniversary partnership celebration which currently sees over 70 SUIBE students progress to UCLan every year
UCLan’s Tim Steele, Executive Director, International Strategy and Partnerships, added: “Our success within China has been built on trust, mutual understanding and our ability to be innovative in positioning and differentiating UCLan as a leading international University. We continue to look at new ways to provide opportunities for students, academics, researchers and industry from both countries to collaborate as we develop the next generation of courses, research and education pathways for one of the most dynamic education markets in the world.”
