5.2 The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNN...
The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), in partnership with Zhejiang Wanli Education Group, is the first independently run Sinoforeign university in China, with the approval from the Ministry of Education of PRC.This English-medium university, established in 2004, occupies an area of 144 acres (584, 666m2).As of 2015, it comprised three faculties—Arts and Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Engineering, with 11 academic departments and ten research centres and institutes offering 31 undergraduate courses and 14 postgraduate courses.By 2015, there were around 600 members of staff from more than 40 different countries and regions, as well as over 6,000 students, including more than 5,600 Chinese students[1]on undergraduate degree programmes from 28 (out of 31) provinces (municipalities, or autonomous regions) in China, 558 international students from more than 60 different countries, and nearly 200 PhD students.The university provides an exchange and study abroad programme to all enrolled students, which is a mobility opportunity of studying across its three campuses and 30 global partners in North America, Asia and Europe for up to twelve months.
Three main strategic aspects of the university’s development and engagement are stated by the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of the UK home university, in order to ‘articulate a number of overarching objectives’ (Ennew & Yang, 2009, p.30).These are bringing together the best of UK and Chinese educational values and practices, educating generations of students as truly international citizens who are aware of both their own and the other cultures, and encouraging international research, not by ‘staying home’ (ibid.) but by working in a host country and concentrating upon subjects that are mutually beneficial to the university’s researchers and Chinese society.According to the public records of the University Strategic Plan 2010-2015 and Global Strategy 2020, the university highlights not only teaching but also research activity in China.The university describes itself as a world-class global institution, providing international education and quality research in China.It is cooperating with some large Chinese companies, such as the car manufacturer FAW, Beijing Pharma, and Wahaha.
By playing a role in bridging global and local identities and bridging Sino-UK relations and business, the university also attracts political attention from its home country and China.In September 2005, the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair launched a ‘soft’ university opening by video link; and in February 2006, the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Chinese State Counsellor Chen Zhili formally announced the opening of the university.In 2011, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Jiechi visited the university, expressing their high expectations of its education and research outcomes.In December 2013, Nottingham’s Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway was among over 100 UK business delegates accompanying the Prime Minister David Cameron on a trade mission to China.