UCD Welcomes CPC Beijing Party Secretary Cai Qi to Campus
11 May 2018
CPC Beijing Party Secretary Cai Qi today visited the University College Dublin campus to witness the signing of a Cooperative Memorandum of Understanding between the University and Beijing University of Technology (BJUT). Secretary Cai was accompanied by BJUT President Professor Liu Gonghui.
The delegation was met by Professor Mark Rogers, Registrar and Deputy President; Professor Dolores O’Riordan, UCD Vice-President for Global Engagement; Professor David Fitzpatrick, Provost - Beijing Dublin International College and College Principal and Dean of Engineering, College Of Engineering & Architecture; and John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training and Skills.
The agreement strengthens cooperation between UCD and BJUT in areas where BJUT is rated as ‘Double First Class’, namely Civil Engineering, Architecture, Materials Science, Metropolitan Transportation, and Information Technology.
Research collaboration, academic exchange and student mobility are promoted through the agreement, and the signing builds on the strong relationship that already exists between the two universities.
UCD and BJUT are longstanding partners. Over the past decade more than 100 of UCD’s BComm International with Chinese students have travelled to BJUT to undertake a semester of study in Chinese language and culture.
In 2012, Beijing Dublin International College (BDIC) was established - a joint college administered by both Universities. BDIC currently has more than 1,100 students on four undergraduate programmes (Internet of Things Engineering, Software Engineering, Finance and Electronic Information Engineering). Students are taught through English in Beijing with 50% of their modules being delivered by UCD academics. Each year approximately 50 BDIC students take up the option to complete one year of their studies on the UCD Belfield campus.
BDIC is also becoming a popular destination for outgoing exchange students with currently eight UCD Dublin-based students nominated for exchange next academic year. BDIC is often held up as a very visible example of the Dublin-Beijing and Ireland-China relationship. An Tánaiste Simon Coveney visited BJUT on St Patrick’s Day 2018 as part of his state tour to China.
Speaking about the visit, UCD Vice-President for Global Engagement Professor Dolores O’Riordan said, 'I was delighted to welcome Secretary Cai, Professor Liu and Minister Halligan to UCD today to sign an MOU between UCD and BJUT. This MOU further strengthens relations between both universities, and ties in with China's Double First Class University Plan, which aims to create world class universities and disciplines in China by the end of 2050.
BJUT and UCD have a strong collaborative history, with the establishment of Beijing-Dublin International College being the most notable example of this, and I look forward to continuing to build on this solid foundation.
As Ireland's Global University, UCD is committed to fostering and developing partnerships around the world, and agreements such as these offer opportunities for students to enhance their learning through studying overseas, and for researchers to collaborate with global partners.'