Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
西交利物浦大学
Established	May 23, 2006
Type	co-educational
Chairman	Professor Jianhua Wang
President	Professor Wenquan Tao, Professor Youmin Xi(executive)
Vice-president	Professor Winzhu Yang, Dr. David Sadler, Mr. Yimin Ding
Students	4,000[2011 fall]
Location	Suzhou, Jiangsu, China 31.2748°N 120.73807°E / 31.2748; 120.73807
Campus	Urban
Colours	blue
Affiliations	University of Liverpool, Xi’an Jiaotong University

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (西交利物浦大学, XJTLU) is an independent university based in Suzhou, China, resulting from a partnership between the University of Liverpool and Xi’an Jiaotong University. It is the world's first Sino-British university between research led universities, and is recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education as a "not for profit" educational institution. XJTLU is a science and engineering university with a vision to become a research-led international university in China and a Chinese university recognised internationally for its unique features in teaching & learning, research, social service and education management. Students are rewarded with a University of Liverpool degree upon graduation, as well as a degree from XJTLU.

History

On September 28, 2004, Xi’an Jiaotong University and the University of Liverpool signed a cooperative agreement to set up XJTLU. The construction began in August 2005 and the university was officially established on May 29 of 2006. More than 160 undergraduates enrolled in the first year. This number has increased over the last six years to a total of 6,000 students on campus and a further 1,500 at the University of Liverpool (via a '2+2' articulation agreement).

In August 2008 Professor Xi Youmin, a renowned scholar in management, was appointed as the Executive President of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool. In the same year Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University signed a strategic alliance agreement with the U.S. Laureate Education Group, in order to improve the innovation and competence of the university on a global scale.

XJTLU’s first batch of students graduated in August 2010. 97% of them continued their studies overseas for a master’s degree or a doctorate and 10% of those went to study in the world’s top ten universities (based on the University Ranking Chart by The Times, 2010). December 2010 saw XJTLU invest 6 million RMB in research for academic performance. By January 2011, XJTLU proudly headed the list of Top 10 Sino-Foreign Cooperative universities in China.

Location

XJTLU is situated in Suzhou Industrial Park in the eastern part of Suzhou in the province of Jiangsu, 80 kilometres west of Shanghai. The university is 12 km from downtown Suzhou which can take up to 45 minutes by bus or 30 minutes by taxi. Suzhou is a scenic city, with 2,500 years of rich history and culture. It has sustained an average annual economic growth-rate of more than 15 per cent since the beginning of China's "reform and opening up" period, its local GDP ranked as the fourth largest in China, just after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The university is part of the Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town (HET), which is constantly expanding and expects to have a student population of 70,000 by 2012.

The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CS-SIP) was born on February 26, 1994 when Chinese Vice President Li Lanqing and Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew signed the agreement on the joint development of Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou. The aim of the agreement was to benefit from the experience and management of Singapore’s industry at the time. The Chinese government has increased its ownership of the park since then and it continues to obtain increased revenues. There are no more than 5 industrial parks in China at the high level of SIP.

SIP is the location for more than 2100 international companies, more than 100 of which are Fortune 500 companies, including Siemens, L'Oréal and Nokia. The park is home to nearly ten thousand expatriate workers from more than 20 countries. Situated in the heart of the complex, XJTLU forms part of a purpose-built international community.

The SIPEDI (Education District Investigation) is a government company that has funded much of XJTLUs development and continues to play a large role in its success. One of its main aims being to develop educated and creative people, SIPEDI has realized the importance of XJTLU in establishing a well taught and well cultured group of students, which will have a carry on affect to the companies and organizations in Suzhou. SIPEDI has already spent around 130billionRMB on XJTLU, mainly on funding facilities such as buildings and laboratories. It is committed to the success of XJTLU and so the budget support is ongoing, without limit. The GDP of SIP is very high, with large income coming from taxes, which allows it to afford such high funding.

Studying at an international university will give students a broader understanding of their subject area and of foreign business and organisation. It is easy to see the benefits of integrating foreign business practices into a Chinese university. SIPEDI has helped establish the Dushu Lake Higher Education Town (HET) for focusing on developing and improving higher education in Suzhou. The HET has gathered more than 14 of Chinas top universities. Before XJTLU, Soochow university was the most important and prestigious in the area. The growing economic and social development of Suzhou demanded another great university, one specialized in science and engineering. XJTLUs establishment was largely welcomed and the two universities now lead the impressive HET in attracting talented and well achieving students from all over China.

International Focus

The University expects this number of international students to increase rapidly in the next few years as it continues to internationalize and receive high profile visits and impressive reviews from important and respected guests.

The university's vision is for international students to comprise 10% (approximately 1,000) of the total amount of students. To achieve this goal, XJTLU focuses on employing a wide variety of highly rated international lecturers, professors and doctors in order to improve the quality of teaching and course content. Suggestions from students are taken on board and the universities different internal teams work consistently to research and implement successful methods and ideas. XJTLU has approximately 130 LC (Language Centre) staff workers.

The university has standards and rules in place to ensure the university stays true to its international appeal and foundations. For example, they require that any poster or wall advertisement be both in English and Chinese equally and encourage all staff meetings to be in English.

Student Life

An international university with an impressive amount of room for growth, XJTLU is constantly improving and changing to increase its attractiveness to students and to maximize their university experience.

The university recognises the difficulties students face when moving away from home and aims to make the transition as smooth as possible with the help of attractive accommodation, student organizations, opportunities to stay fit and a student centre that provides for any need or problem a student might have.

There is a wide range of student groups on offer including mental health, sports and fitness, military training and student committees. The student union is an active part of the University and exists to achieve the enrichment of campus culture, defend student rights and to provide an important platform between the university and the students.

A programme called ‘Intercom’ began in 2010, formed by a group of international students who wanted to encourage and develop an International Community at XJTLU. Intercom provides an environment in which International students can come together in a social setting and work together to break down the social and cultural barriers which prevent the establishment of a thriving multicultural community. Although a fairly new society, Intercom has already hosted many successful events which have included the ‘Dare to be Dirty’ Sports Day and the 'Intercom Welcome Party’ 2011–12.

Sports and Fitness

The university has a large range of sports and fitness clubs and events on offer for students. Students are encouraged to stay fit and healthy whilst also enjoying competition with each other and with other university teams. The sports clubs include table tennis, karate, snooker, badminton, basketball, swimming and football. XJTLU also provides advice and support for students that wish to set up their own sports clubs.

The Buddy Programme

The Buddy Club is a programme designed to help new students settle at university and into life in Suzhou. It has been in existence for two years and is officially supported by the Students Affairs Office. This helps to improve the organization and quality of its events and continuous running through funding and good planning. One of the buddy programmes most popular functions is called “live@suzhou”. Designed specifically for non-local students, it provides a variety of ways to spend free time in Suzhou, such as day trips, special events, restaurants, bars, sports events and many other activities available in Suzhou. The programme has regular updates sent to the students by email or by social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and renren.com.

Faculty

XJTLUs faculty rank is estimated to be around 12th in China.

XJTLU hires top class academics from around the world for its job positions. For its major positions, the university uses top head hunting organizations to carefully select world class employees from all over the world. To attract such talented candidates, XJTLU offers a very competitive salary and an abundance of welfare benefits. All academic staff must have a PhD from a well-known and well respected university in the relevant research field. Professor David O’Connor is a very recent example of the high quality XJTLU is looking for in its academic staff. Professor O'Connor is currently the Professor and Head of Department of Biological Sciences. The University now has nearly 400 academic staff from 40 countries.

Degree Programmes

Undergraduate

• Accounting BMan
• Applied Chemistry BSc
• Applied English Studies BA
• Applied Mathematics BSc
• Architecture BEng
• Biological Sciences BSc
• Business Administration BMan
• Civic Design BEng
• Civil Engineering BEng
• Communication Studies BA
• Computer Science and Techonology BEng
• Digital Media Techonology
• Economics BEcon
• Electrical Engineering BEng
• Electronic Science and Techonology BEng
• English and Communication Studies BA
• English and Finance BA
• English and International Business BA
• Environmental Science BSc
• Financial Mathematics BSc
• Human Resource Management BMan
• Industrial Design BEng
• Information and Computing Science BSc
• Information Management and Information Systems BSc
• Marketing BMan
• Telecommunications Engineering BEng

Postgraduate

• MSc Finance
• MSc Financial Mathematics
• MSc Multimedia Telecommunications
• MSc Applied Mathematics
• MSc Sustainable Energy Technology
• Master of Architectural Design
• MRes Molecular Bioscience
• MSc Sustainable Construction
• MSc Urban Planning

Campus

Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University (XJTLU) is located in the Dushu Lake High Education Town (HET), which forms part of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). In addition to its own campus, XJTLU has access to the common space of the HET.

The common space, shared by all universities in the HET, contains facilities including libraries, entertainment venues, a sports centre and accommodation. Such facilities include:

• Dushu Lake Library (The experimental library of National Digital Library)
• Sports Centre
• Teaching building
• Wenxing Plaza
• Senior Experts' Villa
• Students' Dorm
• Teachers' Dorm
• Egret Park
• Theater & Cinema
• International Communication Centre

In accordance with the 5-year development plan, XJTLU Campus will be developed in two phases. The first phase focuses on the development of the North Campus, which is due to be completed by summer 2013. The second phase focuses on the South Campus, where building is due to commence in 2013 and be completed by 2016.

Vision of XJTLU Campus Development

To become a research-led, international university, it is necessary to develop distinctive and stimulating surroundings for learning, teaching and research. Therefore the buildings and overall environment of the campus will have the following features:

• Attractive and modern design and facilities
• An attractive design
• A hub of student activity
• Elegant and peaceful retreats
• Distinctive buildings that fuse and reflect their cultural implications
• Easily recognisable buildings
• Harmonious coexistence of buildings, environment and occupants

The Language Centre

All Chinese students study English for their first two years at XJTLU. Consequently the Language Centre (LC) plays a key role in the Universities educational approach. The LC is not a department in the university, but a teaching centre and is not responsible for awarding degrees. The majority of the LC tutors have MA degrees in English teaching. The modules are different from other Chinese universities where students follow a national curriculum. The curriculum at the LC is created by the tutors and approved by XJTLU's Learning and Teaching Committee and the University of Liverpool. XJTLU students follow a British degree programme, therefore English for Academic Purposes (EAP) forms the core of the modules and assessments.

Research

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) aims to bring together the best practice from two leading universities, Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) in China and the University of Liverpool (UoL) in the United Kingdom. XJTLU aspires to be a leading research-led university which combines a strong international profile with an unswerving commitment to the economic and social development of the area of China in which it is located. Although still at an early stage in its development, XJTLU has set a clear course to become a leader in learning, teaching and research.

At the core of its 5-year research strategy, XJTLU will concentrate on: developing research programmes; setting up a research infrastructure; strengthening research activities; nurturing a spirit of enterprise; facilitating the generation of intellectual property; and promoting knowledge transfer. XJTLU has a world class research team and laboratories to enable it to succeed in making breakthroughs and accomplishing its goals.

External links

• Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University website
• University of Liverpool website
• Xi'an Jiaotong University's official website in English
• Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University's official facebook page