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University learns lesson in China
East Midlands International Trade Awards Winner 2007
In the last academic year (2006-07) Nottingham became the first foreign university in the world to open a new university inside the People’s Republic of China. The official opening ceremony was undertaken by the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott and China State Councillor Madam Chen Zhili. There are currently 2000 students at the University of Nottingham Ningbo, with numbers set to double next year. Ningbo is a full campus, with seconded and new academic staff appointed on Nottingham conditions. It offers exactly the same degrees as in Nottingham, taught in English and quality assured in Nottingham, but at a more affordable rate for Chinese students than the cost of studying abroad.
Since the beginning of 2007, the China campus has established research centres in sustainable energy technologies and global finance – and, now, students from more than 40 nations are enrolled there.
The University of Nottingham has a second campus in Asia, at Semenyih in Malaysia, which celebrated its first graduation ceremony this year. Currently home to more than 2,000 students, it expects to double that number by 2010. In 2006, the Malaysia-Nottingham Doctoral Programme was launched offering graduate students a ‘split PhD’ with scholarships enabling 100 Malaysian graduates to study for a higher degree.
No other university in the UK attracts as many international students as Nottingham and it was judged ‘UK University of the Year’ at The Times Higher Education Awards for 2007. It also won Queen’s Awards for International Trade in 2006 and Innovation in 2007 and was declared ‘Outward Investor of the Year’ by the influential 48 Group Club, the UK’s pre-eminent trade association with China.
UK and international research awards in 2007 hit record levels for the third year in succession – at £122m representing growth of 22.75 per cent on 2005. The university attracted the fourth highest level of income from industry in British higher education and enjoys partnerships with major global blue chips such as Rolls-Royce and Smiths Industries.
In 2006, it opened the first new school of veterinary medicine to be opened in the UK for 50 years.
Part of the reason for the university’s swift progress and growth in both China and Malaysia has been the success of the university’s Centre for English Language Education (CELE), which now employs staff in Ningbo, Semenyih and Nottingham. CELE is able to draw on a great deal of international experience in specific areas of language teaching to the use of particular technologies, from materials development to teacher training.
The University of Nottingham also delivers highly successful tailormade courses for students from around the world, including the Sultan School in Oman, the University of Otani in Japan and the Turkish Ministry of the Interior.
Mark Heal, international manager at RBS, said: 'As an international bank, we understand the growth opportunities available for businesses in the UK and we see our customers expanding into overseas markets every day. The University of Nottingham has also explored these international opportunities and it is impressive to see they are the first foreign university in the world to open a new university inside the People’s Republic of China. We congratulate them in winning the Award.'
