The relationship between the Faculty of Business and its Asian partners was boosted recently after a delegation of senior administration, led by Dr. Axel Meisen, visited China.

Dr. Gary Gorman, dean of the Faculty of Business, and Prof. Mike Burns, fellow in international business and director of international programs, visited Renmin University and Tsinghua University in Beijing and Xi’an Jiao Tong City College in Xi’an.

The first stop on the China tour for the Faculty of Business contingent was the famous Tsinghua University. Dr. Gorman and Prof. Burns held a meeting with the dean of the School of Continuing Education to discuss programs that could provide a basis for cooperation between the two universities.

Renmin University, currently the highest ranked school in China, already has partnership agreements with the Faculty of Business. There is a 2+2 agreement, which sees students complete their first two years at Renmin and the final two years of their BBA program at Memorial. The first contingent of Renmin students will be on Memorial’s campus in September 2008.

A major purpose of the visit was to participate in the opening ceremony for students newly entering Renmin’s international programs. Dr. Meisen, accompanied by Drs. Gorman, Campbell and Prof Burns, delivered a welcoming address to students. Renmin offers a range of programs in collaboration with leading universities from the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand. For the second consecutive year the Memorial program had attracted by far the largest enrolment.

Following the opening ceremony, Prof. Ji Boacheng, president of Renmin (who also holds the official Chinese government rank of vice-minister), held a special welcome ceremony for Dr. Meisen and the Faculty of Business contingent. Both presidents agreed that efforts should be made to expand collaboration between the two schools.

“The visit to Renmin was both timely and productive,” Dr. Gorman explained. “We had the opportunity to meet with senior officials to discuss possibilities for future partnerships, and we also were able to meet students who will be attending Memorial next fall.”

At Xi’an Jiao Tong City College in Xi’an, the Faculty of Business has another 2+2 agreement similar to Renmin University. Memorial officials met with nearly 40 students who are provisionally enrolled in the Xi’an Jiao Tong – Memorial University program. A B. Comm. co-op student is spending this work term in Xian, assisting Professor Burns in the development of the program.

After visiting the Chinese universities, Dr. Gorman travelled to Hong Kong where he and Dr. Meisen met with representatives from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Both universities have exchange agreements with Memorial. This was Dr. Gorman’s first visit to both schools and was largely intended to build relationships and explore other areas of collaboration.

Students from Hong Kong Polytechnic are enthusiastic about the exchange agreement. Two students from that campus are at Memorial right now, and two more are scheduled for the winter term. The first Memorial students to go to Hong Kong Polytechnic will go in the winter semester.

The connection between the two schools is expected to grow. As Dr. Gorman explained, “There are many possibilities for collaboration with Hong Kong Polytechnic. We discussed a range of other collaborations, including internships, a summer school and faculty exchanges and research. They should be an excellent long-term partner. It is hoped that the more recently signed agreement with HKUST will have similar results."