On 14th April, a senior delegation from the University of Bradford visited the Sino-British College in Shanghai. The delegation was headed by Professor Brian Cantor CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford. Members of the delegation included Professor Robert Parkin, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Knowledge Transfer, Professor Julian Chaudhuri, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, Professor Carole Howorth, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Management and Law and Dr William Mitchell, Director of International Development.
The visitors were warmly welcomed by Professor John Wilson, Principal and CEO, and members of the SBC executive team. Professor Wilson gave a brief presentation on the recent development of the College and plans for the 10 years anniversary celebration, in particular the academic conference themed on responsible leadership and global citizenship which would be held on 27th-28th October 2016. Professor Wilson also commented on the support of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST) relating to campus developments and said that more investment would be made in campus infrastructure to enhance the academic excellence of the College, matching its location in central Shanghai.
In response, Professor Cantor described the achievements of the University of Bradford as one of the world’s great technology universities for professional and vocational courses and applied research. Apart from its outstanding student employability and the fact of being ranked as the 4th most sustainable campus in the world, Bradford established the first Management School in the UK and the first Peace Studies Department worldwide while playing a leading role in polymer and auto-engineering, smart cities, disarmament, digital health and dementia studies. With the 1st World Technology University Congress being held in September to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the University, the Vice-Chancellor stressed that the University was keen further to expand international students and research partnerships and to build new collaborations globally.
It was agreed that Bradford and SBC would explore the potential for further collaboration, reinforced by the discussions to take place later that afternoon between Bradford and USST on potential research collaboration.
Following a visit to the main campus of USST, Professor Julian Chaudhuri, Professor Carole Howorth and Dr William Mitchell also met with a group of Year 1 and Year 2 students at SBC. A tea reception was offered for the students to enquire about and discuss opportunities for studying at the University of Bradford and completing their degrees in the UK.
It is believed that with the continuous support of the University of Bradford and other partners in the UK and in China, with the launch of Vision 2025 in September 2016, SBC will be able to demonstrate even greater achievements in the next 10 years, contributing to the economic and social development of the city and internationally.
