









{"id":12409,"date":"2024-02-07T20:10:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=12409"},"modified":"2024-02-07T20:17:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:17:53","slug":"strengthening-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/02\/07\/strengthening-partnerships\/","title":{"rendered":"Strengthening Partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\">Professor Robert Van de Noort reflects on the events of his eight-day trip to China in September 2023, which was packed with meetings and events with partner institutions, recruitment agents and key players in Chinese education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cAs a University, we have a lot to gain from international collaboration. As well as supporting our strategic ambitions to make a positive difference in the world, global partnerships also present opportunities to reach new student markets. My trip to China last year was intended both to raise Reading\u2019s profile and to explore opportunities for further research and educational collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12432 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-300x187.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Van de Noort with a colleague at the Beijing Institute of Technology holding a certificate\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-370x231.jpg 370w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-270x168.jpg 270w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-570x355.jpg 570w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127-740x461.jpg 740w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195236.127.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Professor Van de Noort visited both the <a href=\"https:\/\/english.bit.edu.cn\/\">Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT)<\/a> \u2013 where students can take a BA Accounting degree programme run with Henley Business School \u2013 and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/about\/nuist\">NUIST Reading Academy<\/a>, at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) \u2013 which has been partnered with Reading since 2009, offering a range of degrees in sciences and social sciences to almost 400 students.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Van de Noort said: \u201cI met with senior leaders at BIT, where they spoke in glowing terms about the current partnership and suggested potential new PhD programmes. NUIST\u2019s President and Vice-President International urged us to build on the NUIST Academy\u2019s strong reputation in China by seeking to expand the partnership to more subjects and work collaboratively to increase the numbers of students transferring to Reading to the levels we experienced before the pandemic.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cOur strong reputation in these subject areas and successful relationships with institutions like these in China, as well as others around the world, will help us stand out from the crowd when attempting to forge and grow collaborations in a competitive global market.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cOur meeting with the Chinese Ministry of Education in Beijing was also fruitful as representatives expressed a mutual appetite for more collaborative programmes, particularly in our strength areas of business and agriculture, and for broadening our joint PhD offering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As well as the formal meetings, there were some opportunities for Professor Van de Noort to build relationships, inspire students and showcase Reading at some social events in China.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Van de Noort said: \u201cI was delighted to attend the annual NUIST student enrolment ceremony \u2013 a grand affair involving more than 12,000 new students, including almost a full quota of new NUIST-Reading Academy recruits, in their sports stadium. Here, and at an earlier busy student <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12430 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-300x187.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Van de Noort presenting at the Beijing Alumni Reception\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-370x231.jpg 370w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-270x168.jpg 270w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-570x355.jpg 570w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387-740x461.jpg 740w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195316.387.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>event, I was able to present on our University\u2019s research strengths and our international outlook. I also expressed my support for student and staff mobility to enhance prospects in today\u2019s transnational world, presenting Reading as an attractive destination for international students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Professor Van de Noort also hosted over 100 Reading alumni at a <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/09\/21\/beijing-alumni-reception\/\">Beijing Alumni Reception \u2013 read more about this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Travelling green<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12431 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-300x187.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Van de Noort with colleagues in China\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-370x231.jpg 370w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-270x168.jpg 270w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-570x355.jpg 570w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325-740x461.jpg 740w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_image-2024-02-07T195253.325.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>In keeping with the low-carbon ambitions of the University, Professor Van de Noort made the most of this international trip by packing in as much as possible whilst there, and travelling by train within China.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cI\u2019m told that some of the Chinese alumni who attended our Beijing event were quite interested in my transport choices, including flying economy and cycling to work in Reading, in their conversations on social media. It was nice to hear such enthusiasm on an individual level among young people in a country which is now making serious progress on its own green agenda.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt was a whirlwind stay in China and I\u2019m grateful for the opportunities I had to meet and engage with so many of our University and Alumni community while I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Professor Van de Noort <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/02\/07\/the-wonders-of-china\/\">also shares his experience of Chinese culture<\/a> and history during his spare time on the trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Professor Robert Van de Noort reflects on the events of his eight-day trip to China in September 2023, which was packed with meetings and events with partner institutions, recruitment agents and key players in Chinese education. He said: \u201cAs a University, we have a lot to gain from international collaboration. As well as supporting our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":12436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,73,56,46],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Strengthening Partnerships - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Professor Robert Van de Noort reflects on his eight-day trip to China in September 2023, which was packed with meetings and events.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/02\/07\/strengthening-partnerships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strengthening Partnerships - 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