Wrexham Glyndŵr Signs New Study Partnership With Top Chinese University

Wrexham Glyndŵr University has signed a new study partnership with a top Chinese university. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Welsh institution and Tonghua University signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) which will see art and design students spend two years in the Jilin Province before transferring to Wrexham for their final year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Lecturers from both organisations will visit each other’s campuses to deliver academic modules, which will fulfil staff development needs and improve programme content. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Suzanne Riley, External Relations Manager, said the university’s burgeoning relationship with Tonghua City will be of huge benefit to Wrexham Glyndŵr moving forward. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The University, in particular the School of Creative Arts, has a long-standing relationship with Chinese institutions and has always attracted students from the country due to the tradition and pedigree of the North Wales School of Art and Design and other key subject areas,” said Suzanne. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Working with Tonghua University we will see lecturers from Wrexham travel there to teach cohorts and vice-versa, further strengthening this connection and building new programmes and partnerships we can capitalise on together in the future.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

During her most recent trip to the Far East, Suzanne and Head of Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions, Julie Cowley, met with the presidents of Tonghua University and Guangxi Normal University and engaged with prospective new partners including the British Council and UKTI. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

They explored opportunities to grow existing partnership provision, support and expand student recruitment and bolster forge new relationships in the Chinese and Hong Kong markets. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Other areas to pursue included Chinese medicine, construction skills, business and progression opportunities in engineering, lean management, and accountancy and finance, as well as recruiting Chinese students to summer schools on Wrexham campus. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Tonghua University has over 12,000 students, 700 teachers and 536 professors, as well as a library with more than 1.5million books and exchange projects around the world. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Dan Berry, Programme Leader for Illustration, Graphic Novels & Children’s Publishing, recently returned from China delivering the subject and will be followed by colleagues from the School of Creative Arts in the coming months. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Suzanne said: “It was a fruitful visit and we made positive strides to laying the foundations for a long and successful partnership with both universities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“This is the first of many new and existing connections in Asia that we plan to reinforce and construct in the future – it’s an exciting time for us.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Pictured from left to right are Suzanne Riley, External Relations Manager and Head of Marketing, Recruitment and Admission, Julie Cowley from Wrexham Glyndŵr University, with the President of Tonghua University, Kang Xuewei, and colleagues. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​