Posted 19 December 2011
Landmark agreement heralds Beijing-Dublin International campus
University College Dublin and Beijing University of Technology have signed a landmark agreement to establish the Beijing-Dublin International campus.
According to the Mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong, who witnessed the signing of the agreement at City Hall in Beijing, the new campus is a ‘milestone’ in Beijing education, and the plan is to rapidly scale the joint venture to full university status.
The first intake of students will start in September 2012, with dual degree programmes in business, science and engineering.
“This co-operation model is an innovation for the Beijing educational system,” said the Mayor of Beijing, Mr Guo Jinlong, who visited Ireland in September as part of the Dublin-Beijing twinning process.
“It’s the first time to establish a co-operation between a municipal university and a foreign institution to set up a subsidiary campus,” he said.
“The agreement came about very quickly – we started talking about it in August and the first students will come in September next year. The twinning of the cities of Beijing and Dublin was the inspiration, and it gave us the support of the Mayor,” said UCD President, Dr Hugh Brady.
Mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong, who witnessed the signing of the agreement between UCD and Beijing University of Technology
The Beijing-Dublin International campus will offer Irish students increased access to experience in China and advance educational and research links between the two institutions.
Under the agreement, bespoke ‘study abroad’ opportunities will be developed for Irish students.
Dr Brady said he hoped the Beijing-Dublin International campus would serve as a magnet for both top-quality Chinese and international students, and also function as a high-quality study-abroad location for Irish students wishing to study Chinese language, culture and business.
The official event in City Hall, Beijing, where the agreement was co-signed by Dr Hugh Brady, President of UCD and Professor Guo Guangsheng, President of Beijing University of Technology, was also attended by HE Declan Kelleher, the Irish Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, and UCD Professor Alan Keenan, who managed the development of the campus project.
Over the past number of years, University College Dublin has established links with several Chinese universities including Peking, Renmin, Fudan, Shanghai Jiaotong and Wuhan.
In 2006, UCD set up the first Confucius Institute for Ireland which offers a B Comm with Chinese Studies - where students spend a semester or full-year in Renmin University or Fudan University.
The UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics, University College Dublin, runs a BSc in software engineering at Fudan University in Shanghai, as well as postgraduate studies in business and computer science at Suzhou Innovation Park in co-operation with the Suzhou municipal government and Wuhan University.
It also operates the UCD-Shenzhen Institute of Health Science and Innovation with Shenzhen University.
The main Beijing universities, such as Tsinghua, Beijing University and Renmin University, come under the remit of the central government, whereas the technology university is part of the municipal system and is run by the city of Beijing directly.
About Beijing University of Technology
Beijing University of Technology (formerly known as Beijing Polytechnic University) was founded in 1960. It is a key university under the administration of the Beijing municipal government, which has established a multi-disciplinary academic structure. The structure offers various programs and also involves in diversified academic research in the fields of science, engineering, economics, management, liberal arts and law. It is ranked as one of the 100 key universities for the 21st century. Its mission is "relying on Beijing, merging into Beijing, inspiring China and orienting itself to the world." In fulfilling this mission, the university has become a base for cultivating qualified high-level personnel, for scientific and technological innovation and for research and development.
(Produced by UCD University Relations)
