New initiatives in strengthening academic ties

 

When Bruce was back in his homeland, Scotland, earlier this year, he visited the historic University of Glasgow. What fascinated him was the amount of Putonghua he heard spoken around the campus. This prestigious university, which ranks highly at both national and international levels is today a major destination for Chinese students. It's links with China continue to grow which this year have seen major joint initiatives, as we will hear.

 

Recently a sizeable delegation of leading Scots from many areas connected with China was in Beijing. It was led by Scotland's  First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Over a few days a series of memorandums and agreements were established. Bruce was invited to meet and talk with Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, Anton Muscatelli and to be updated by The Principal on the latest developments between the University and China.

Principal Muscatelli describes enthusiastically the growing relationships between his university and several leading Chinese academic institutes. One happening currently with Tianjin's Nankai University is a series of joint graduate programmes, taught in English covering subjects such as environmental management and urban planning - very relevant with China's current urbanisation programme including the physical growth strategies of cities such as Tianjin and Beijing.