Cambridge and Peking universities in talks about partnership plan for ‘role model’ Shenzhen
- PKU and Cambridge Judge Business School plan programme in Qianhai special economic zone as southern city sets sights on building academic presence
Cambridge University and Peking University are in talks about a partnership in Shenzhen as the southern Guangdong city aims to become China’s model municipality.
The universities, placed second and 31st respectively in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019, are in discussions about unspecified joint programmes in the Qianhai special economic zone with backing from the city government, Shenzhen TV reported on Thursday.
The news coincided with Beijing’s plans to turn Shenzhen into a “pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics” by 2035. This would involve “the autonomy of higher education institutions” and accelerating “the establishment of first-class universities and first-class disciplines”.
Mark Welland, deputy vice chancellor of Cambridge, was in Shenzhen on Wednesday to meet city leaders. There were no details of what the joint programmes may cover, but it would be led by the HSBC Business School of Peking University in Shenzhen, Welland said.
“The idea will be initially to build upon a planned collaboration between the business school in Shenzhen for PKU and the Cambridge Judge Business School and then to see those developed into other areas beyond business,” he told Shenzhen TV.
Welland and Christoph Loch, director of Cambridge Judge Business School, visited the HSBC Business School and met PKU officials, including dean Hai Wen, the school said.