A Kent delegation to Beijing has been welcomed by representatives from Chinese government, industry bodies and the education sector.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Innovation Professor Philippe De Wilde have also met with some of China’s leading education and science journalists to highlight Kent’s strengths and research activities.
Dame Julia, who is also accompanied by Dean for Europe Professor Roger Vickerman, is currently in Beijing to develop the many existing links that already exist between Kent and China, to gain a greater understanding of China’s emergent knowledge economy and to showcase the research and teaching expertise of the University to new potential partners.
Dame Julia, who sits on the Council for Science and Technology, which advises the UK Prime Minister on scientific issues, also gave a talk on crystallography at a Cafe Scientifique organised in Beijing by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics. On Tuesday 21 October she participated in a Science Salon event organised by the British Embassy, where she spoke on excellence and impact in science.
Amongst those attending the Science Salon were Kent alumni and several Kent students currently studying in Beijing.
The University has strategic partnerships with a number of Chinese universities, including the Chinese Foreign Affairs University. It has over 2,000 alumni in mainland China and Hong Kong.