Photo caption: UC Executive Dean of Education Professor Joce Nuttall with SHNU Vice-President Professor Jiang Mingjun (front row, far right).
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) has received approval from the China Ministry of Education to establish Joint Education Institutes (JEIs) with two partner universities in China: Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology (XAUAT), through UC’s Faculties of Engineering and Science, and Shanghai Normal University (SHNU), through UC’s Faculty of Education.
Together, the approvals represent a remarkable achievement for UC and an important step in the University’s growing role as a provider of high-quality transnational education.
A UC delegation will travel to China to formally launch the institutes with XAUAT and SHNU later this year.
The XAUAT-UC Science and Engineering JEI connects two universities with complementary strengths and a shared commitment to sustainable built environments.
XAUAT is recognised for its strengths in civil engineering, architecture, and urban planning, and the new JEI will prepare students to contribute to some of the major challenges facing the world’s cities and communities, from environmental change to the design and delivery of more sustainable infrastructure.
Five UC programmes will be delivered at XAUAT: Bachelor of Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Master of Civil Engineering, Master of Product Innovation, and Master of Software Engineering. Once fully operational, it is expected to teach more than 1,000 students.
“The approval of this Institute recognises the enormous commitment of many academic and professional staff at our two institutions,” says Professor Saurabh Sinha, Executive Dean of UC’s Faculty of Engineering.
“We are very pleased that the mutual trust and respect we have developed can now be expressed through the XAUAT-UC Science and Engineering Joint Institute. Our teams look forward to contributing to its future success.”
UC’s Faculty of Education will partner with Shanghai Normal University for UC’s other new JEI, the UC-SHNU Joint Education Institute in Education.
SHNU is internationally recognised for its strength in teacher education and research, and the JEI builds on an established relationship between the two universities, including student mobility, senior leader engagement and ongoing collaborative research through the bilateral New Zealand-China Tripartite Partnership Fund, which recently awarded new funding to UC’s Faculty of Education.
This JEI will focus on areas of growing international importance, including artificial intelligence in education, digital pedagogy, early childhood education, education technology, and comparative education.
Approximately 1,000 students are expected to study through the Institute once fully operational, with courses available including: Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Sciences Education, Master of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Education, Master of Early Childhood in Digital Pedagogy, and PhD study in Education Technology and Comparative Education.
Professor Joce Nuttall, Executive Dean of UC’s Faculty of Education, says the Institute reflects a commitment to preparing education specialists for rapidly changing learning environments.
“The UC-SHNU JEI brings together two institutions with a shared interest in the future of education and will help prepare a new generation of experts for the emergence of digitally supported and AI-integrated learning.
“Through this Institute, we aim to address the global challenge of educating people to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
Together, these initiatives advance NZ-China education opportunities, creating new pathways for students in China to study UC programmes in areas that are shaping the future.
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