It’s easy for an ‘internationalist’ to enjoy a few days travelling round the Far East, but the hospitality I received, and the new acquaintances I developed, made it a particularly memorable first trip abroad on behalf of the University. Thanks to the hard work already done and the years already spent cultivating our academic links over there, especially by Ian Barnes in China, it was a very easy task!
And now, our objective is to build on those links, for the strategic benefit of Lincoln.
In Singapore, I met with Pearson representatives who are interested in extending the HND top-up we’re developing with NATC to other partner colleges they work with in the region. With CTBU in Chongqing, China – a University with over ten years of history with Lincoln – we’re discussing a joint PhD programme, an offer in tourism, and a programme in Business with English. NCUST in Tangshan are also interested in a Business with English programme and running a Summer school on English Teaching.
In addition, I met with colleagues from Study Group’s Singapore hub and Beijing office, as we look to use our partnership with them more profitably for our international marketing and recruitment efforts. They have a very impressive and effective business model for moving prospective students through the recruitment pipeline, right up to the point that those students arrive for their studies.
Finally – for the business side of the trip – Ian and I spent time with Cici in Beijing, one of our two new China representatives (Fei is based in Guangdong) reporting through to our International Office. With a new approach to international recruitment targeting the Agency market and direct recruitment from schools and universities, I’m confident we’ll see more success in that area, under Peng’s guidance.
So it wasn’t all playing mahjong, attending formal receptions, and dining at banquets, though there were indeed many of those…
One of the stand-out moments was visiting the abandoned library in Tangshan, a half demolished concrete skeleton left as a memorial to the devastating earthquake of 1976 that flattened the city. Here’s a picture of us standing in front of the dedication stone with the remains of the building in the trees behind us.
In the photo are Vice President Liang of North China University of Science and Technology, and her colleagues, Profs Wang and Wang; my visit was also notable for the fact that here, as with every institution I visited in Singapore and China, the senior representative was a woman.