Queen Mary University of London welcomed two delegations from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) on Monday 22 January. The first delegation was led by Prof Hongxiang Sun, Vice President of BUPT. The second included Programme Directors from the Joint Programme (JP) / Joint Institute (JEI) and was led by Prof Guo Li, Vice Dean of the International School of BUPT.
BUPT’s trip to London forms part of an annual review of the long-standing relationship between the two institutions – which first began 20 years ago.
Welcoming BUPT’s delegation
As part of their annual visit, the BUPT delegations met with senior members of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film and the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science to discuss strategic directions and to further intensify existing collaborations between the partner institutions.
Both delegations visited the institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) in London and participated in the Annual Joint TNE Workshop organised by the Joint Teaching and Learning Centre (JTLC) at QMUL. The International School delegation engaged in numerous discussions with QMUL counterparts including the Senior Management Team of the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Programme Directors of the JP/JEI on topics such as potential expansions, curriculum development and a proposal for a Resource Sharing Platform for JP/JEI teaching. They also attended a bespoke training session conducted by the QM Academy on a series of useful and timely topics such as leadership and authentic assessments.
Prof Michael Chai, QM Director of JP and Executive Vice-Dean of Queen Mary School said: “We had a fantastic discussion on the strategic development of our collaboration in Transnational Education, including expanding the scale of our JEIs, integrating innovative scholarship initiatives to enhance our TNE student learning experience, and creating a novel resource platform to facilitate synchronous and asynchronous teaching for JEI students.”
Celebrating 20 years of shared history with BUPT Queen Mary and BUPT began working on a transnational education (TNE) programme in 2004 and have since launched numerous Joint Programmes as well as a Joint Education Institute in Beijing. Over those years we have graduated over 10,000 students with dual-award degrees from both institutions.
Queen Mary was one of the first universities to pioneer this type of engagement, and one of the first institutions in the UK to develop this type of educational model.
In 2022 we built on our partnership with BUPT by launching a brand-new Joint Education Institute with them in Hainan. So far 250 students are enrolled in numerous subjects – including Maths, Digital Technologies, Computer Science and Data Science.
BUPT Vice President Professor Hongxiang Sun stated: “I am delighted to visit Queen Mary University of London as we embark on the fresh beginning of a new year. This visit holds special significance, aligning with the imminent 20th anniversary of the Joint Programme between BUPT and QMUL. It presents a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with both new and longstanding friends, discuss future partnerships, and celebrate our enduring friendship. In this era marked by a plethora of challenges and opportunities, we stand ready at an exhilarating new start to redefine joint education by merging our strengths in a uniquely complementary and coordinated manner.”
Professor Wen Wang, Vice-President for Science and Engineering, said: “It has been a great pleasure welcoming the delegation from BUPT to our campus. Queen Mary and BUPT's pioneering partnership in transnational education has been one of the most successful examples globally. In June 2024, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of our Joint Programmes. We look forward to continuing the great work we have done together and future opportunities our partnership brings.”
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