A delegation from the University of Liverpool took part in the recent inaugural meeting of the Jiangsu-UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium which aims to intensify research and education collaboration between the UK and Jiangsu Province in China.
A total of 16 UK universities, led by University of Liverpool, and 23 Jiangsu universities are members of the Jiangsu-UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium which aims to intensify research and education collaboration between the UK and Jiangsu Province on a “many to many” basis and is supported by the British Council and the Jiangsu Province Education Department.
The Consortium, established in 2016 and spearheaded by the British Council, UK Universities International, Jiangsu Province Department of Education, has since seen a rapid expansion in the number of UK universities partnering with Chinese universities in Jiangsu.
As China’s second largest province by GDP, Jiangsu is one of the top performing provinces in China and the University of Liverpool is delighted to be strengthening engagement, building on the strong presence it already has through XJTLU. The provincial government has already committed £40 million in funds to support international partnership agreements including the Jiangsu-UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium.
The initial priority themes for the Consortium are advanced manufacturing, environmental engineering and healthcare. Pump priming grants are available to support the development of research projects as well as funding for staff and graduate student mobility.
The Liverpool delegation represented at the Jiangsu-UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium Conference
The inaugural meeting of the Consortium saw more than 800 delegates attend the opening ceremony, and included a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony involving the University of Liverpool, University of York, Cranfield University, University of Leicester, Nanjing University and Jiangsu University (pictured below).
Delivering a speech at the event, Professor Wiebe Van Der Hoek, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Science and Engineering, said: “I’m very much looking forward to the development of UKJS 2020 Consortium which brings together experts and researchers for international university and industry collaboration.
“Currently, we all focus on advanced manufacturing, environmental engineering and healthcare, but in the future we can promote multilateral cooperation and face globalisation together.”
Professor Alan Marshall from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics is the UK Chair of the of the Jiangsu 2020 Consortium.
For further information about the Consortium and funding opportunities, please contact Professor Alan Marshall, (UK) Chair of the Jiangsu 2020 Consortium at alan.marshall@liverpool.ac.uk and Project Manager, Cynthia Wang at: Y.C.Wang@liverpool.ac.uk
For other funding opportunities in China please visit: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/intranet/international-funding-opportunities/ (Staff only link)