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Brunel to launch new joint college in Beijing

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Brunel University London is partnering with the North China University of Technology (NCUT) to establish a joint college which will see 300 Beijing-based undergraduate students starting each year to work towards degrees awarded jointly by both universities.

The college – named Brunel London School, North China University of Technology – has been given official approval by China’s Ministry of Education as a transnational education (TNE) college: one involving students studying in China for a degree awarded by a university in another country. It will be the first Chinese–British TNE college at the undergraduate level in Beijing.

The college will offer three degree programmes, each recruiting 100 students a year:

  • Data Science and Big Data Technology, with the first intake in September 2020
  • Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation, with the first intake in September 2021
  • Civil Engineering, also September 2021.

The students will be taught and supported by academic staff based in Beijing and by those splitting their time between China and the UK. Each intake will learn English as a Foreign Language for their first year, delivered by the Brunel Language Centre, followed by three years of technical training.

NCUT's campus, based in the west part of the Beijing urban area, covers more than 34 hectares and has won awards as one of the most beautiful universities in Beijing. NCUT is a multidisciplinary university funded by the municipal government, with engineering as its strongest subject. Working in partnership with NCUT in Beijing – China's centre for international exchange and for scientific and technological innovation – will provide Brunel with opportunities for research collaboration, student exchange between the universities, staff development, and links with local government and industry.

The formation of the joint college is a milestone in global partnership development for Brunel, and represents a landmark achievement for NCUT's internationalisation project. It builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in March 2019, following a series of visits between the two universities.

Professor Julia Buckingham CBE, Brunel's Vice-Chancellor and President, said: "We are delighted to build upon Brunel’s strong relationships in China with this new partnership. NCUT and Brunel have much in common and we look forward to the partnership growing beyond the areas of engineering, mathematics and English language that we will be teaching.

"I very much enjoyed my visit to NCUT and hope that many Brunel staff and students will have the opportunity to make their own visits to learn, teach and collaborate.”

Professor Ding Hui, President of NCUT, said: "The establishment of Brunel London School, NCUT is a blend of the academic competitiveness and characteristics of the two universities.

"By introducing to NCUT the advanced educational concepts and first-rate educational resources from Brunel University London, the new college will actively contribute to the training of high-quality talents with excellent practical ability, innovation skills and international competitiveness in multidisciplinary fields to meet the needs of emerging industries.

"Looking ahead, it is hoped that we two universities will work together to build Brunel London School, NCUT as a high-level and exemplary Chinese–foreign cooperatively-run school with distinctive characteristics, first-class teaching quality, remarkable educational achievements and excellent social reputation, making it a model of China–Britain cooperation in higher education."

Reported by:

Joe Buchanunn, Media Relations
+44 (0)1895 268821
joe.buchanunn@brunel.ac.uk