St Mary’s Welcomes Chinese Delegation

St Mary’s University, Twickenham was delighted to host a delegation from the National Academy of Education Administration (NAEA) China for the third time.

The delegation, which visited St Mary’s last week, was made up of 22 Vice Presidents and council chairs from universities across China and was headed up by officials from the Ministry of Education in China and NAEA, an educational leadership development body that operates under the authority of the Chinese Ministry of Education.

The group were in the UK to gain knowledge on all aspects of UK university management, with this year’s specialist focus on university scientific research, innovation and entrepreneurship education. The visit was part of a wider programme which also sends another two delegations to other countries with the same brief, so on return to China they can share their findings to inform education strategy.

During their visit the delegates went on a campus tour, which coincided with the University’s open day, and took part in two training sessions. The first training session focused on teacher training and how St Mary’s works in partnership with local schools and maintains such high employability statistics for graduate students. The session also introduced the new Teaching and Learning MA course, with two students from its first ever cohort presenting on their experience at St Mary’s.

The second session provided delegates with insights into the research development and culture at St Mary’s and the UK more widely. Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement Prof John Brewer also gave an opening address and introduced the global vision of the University, where China plays a large role in future development.

Prof Brewer said of the visit, “We were delighted to host the delegation from the NAEA and to explore opportunities for collaboration with potential partners in China.  The delegation included two universities with whom we already have a close relationship and I was encouraged to hear them speaking very positively about their experience of sending students to St Mary’s.  We hope that this visit will strengthen our relationships with many more Chinese universities.”