Shanghai to build two Sino-foreign universities

Shanghai will press ahead with the construction of two Sino-foreign joint venture universities this year, according to the annual task plan of the Shanghai Education Commission.

The two universities, with the working names Sino-German University of Science and Technology Shanghai and the Sino-British Arts Institute in Shanghai, aim to provide high-level, interdisciplinary talent that meets industrial needs while promoting the high-level opening-up of Shanghai, the commission said.

Tongji University, on the Chinese side of the Sino-German university joint venture, said the new school will be established with reference to the model of Germany's universities of applied sciences.

The German University Consortium for International Cooperations and three German universities involved in the joint venture will incorporate their educational philosophy, mode of operation, curriculum system and management experience into the joint venture.

The joint venture will expand its cooperation with German partner universities, business circles of both countries and other international enterprises in Shanghai, Tongji University said.

According to the memorandum of understanding signed in June, the proposed university will be located in the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Pudong district.

The German consortium is comprised of 37 of the strongest universities of applied sciences in Germany, and its member universities carry out talent training and applied scientific research to meet the needs of modern manufacturing enterprises. The discipline setting is highly compatible with the industrial needs of the Lingang area.

The joint venture also aims to promote talent development in the Yangtze River Delta region, especially by preparing graduates for the job market and working with local companies with the German model of talent building.

Fang Shouen, Party secretary of Tongji University, said the joint venture will be another important milestone in the win-win cooperation between China and Germany in higher education.

"The new university will be the first Sino-foreign joint venture school in China that uses the model of the German universities of applied sciences," he said. "Meanwhile, Shanghai will provide a first-class stage for such German-style higher education to go to the world and explore a more international talent training approach."

The Sino-British school will be a joint venture between Shanghai-based Donghua University, which has a focus on textiles, materials and design, and the London-based Royal College of Art.

The joint venture school aims to cultivate high-level, international and first-class talent in the fields of art, design and creativity, and help expand in-depth cooperation and mutual learning between China and the United Kingdom in the field of higher education. It is also meant to support the urban development of Shanghai as an international city of design, fashion and brands, according to Donghua University.

RCA is the oldest graduate school of art and design in the world, and has been ranked first in the category of art and design on the QS World University Rankings for eight consecutive years.

Shanghai New York University was the first Sino-foreign higher education institute in Shanghai. Founded in 2012, NYU Shanghai is regarded as a pilot program in China-U.S. educational cooperation. It currently has more than 1,800 undergraduates from nearly 80 countries and regions, about half of whom are international students.