Napier University has signed a memorandum of intent with Shandong University of Finance, to begin discussions for the development of a joint college.
The creation of a campus would allow Chinese students to study for a Scottish degree without having to leave the country.
A delegation of 16 deans from Shandong visited Napier to share best practice in teaching and learning between the two universities.
The partnership with Shandong follows Napier’s announcement on 12 October that the University is working with Zhengzhon University of Light Industry (ZULLI), in Henan Province, Central China to begin discussions for the development of Scotland’s first joint college in China.
Napier’s Principal & Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joan Stringer CBE, signed the agreement with Shandong President, Professor Shuai Chongqing.
Professor Stringer said: “I want Napier to be not simply a university with a lot of international students, but a truly international university.
“There has been a significant growth in Chinese students studying overseas but this will plateau and more will look at different ways of accessing western qualifications. The development campuses in China is a way of embedding that access, while building into the programmes some cultural experience of Scotland.
“Through this agreement to discuss the opportunities at Shandong we are strengthening our position in China and demonstrating Napier’s ambitions to develop and grow.”
The signing of the Shandong and ZULLI agreements follows an agreement between the First Minister and Chinese Education Minister, Mr Zhang Xingsheng, to appoint an official from each government to develop links between the countries’ education services.
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