On the morning of April 12, Liaoning University (LNU) and the UK’s De Montfort University (DMU) held a symposium at the China Business Development Institute (Beijing) (CBDI). The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on academic exchange, cooperative education, talent cultivation, and other topics, exploring ways to promote high-quality development of educational cooperation between the two universities. The symposium was attended by Yu Miaojie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC LNU Committee and President of LNU, and Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, along with other representatives. The meeting was chaired by Xie Mingyi, Director of the Office of International Affairs at LNU.
At the symposium, President Yu Miaojie extended a warm welcome to the delegation from DMU and highly praised the long-standing and fruitful cooperative education achievements between the two institutions. He noted that since the establishment of the Sunwah International Business School (SWIBS) in 2004, the two universities have maintained a close and efficient partnership, which has played a significant role in advancing LNU’s internationalization and supporting the country’s opening-up strategy.
President Yu Miaojie highlighted the university’s recent achievements under four key themes: “disciplinary strength, international influence, social service, and open cooperation.” As a national “Double First-Class” university, LNU has seen remarkable progress in its Applied Economics discipline over the past three years, with faculty members publishing 18 papers in top-tier international economics journals. The university has attracted and cultivated nearly 70 high-level talents, including several academicians, and has achieved significant results in think tank development, international journal publishing, and global collaboration networks. It has established cooperative relationships with 176 universities across 37 countries and regions.
President Yu emphasized that the SWIBS stands as a key achievement of the partnership, with its “4+0” academic model and China-UK collaborative education mechanism delivering outstanding results. Graduate employment and further study rates have steadily improved. He noted that the deepening educational cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between China and the UK present new opportunities for expanding collaboration. Liaoning University will actively respond to national strategies, further broaden cooperation areas, explore undergraduate program optimization and master’s-level joint programs, and advance the talent cultivation system to higher levels.
In her address, Professor Katie Normington expressed that DMU highly values its partnership with LNU and fully recognizes the success of the Sunwah International Business School. She expressed hope that both sides would continue to strengthen academic interaction, faculty and student exchanges, and research collaboration, jointly addressing global challenges and enhancing the international influence of both universities.
During the symposium, representatives from both sides conducted in-depth discussions and reached broad consensus on optimizing cooperative education mechanisms, innovating curriculum systems, faculty training, and student exchanges. Both parties agreed to take this symposium as an opportunity to deepen practical cooperation and achieve mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.
Also attending the event were Simon Bradbury, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of DMU; Sudarshan Pillalamarri, SWIBS Program Coordinator; Gao Dahai, Chief Representative of DMU China Office; Li Jiawei, China Regional Director; Wang Xiaohui, Dean of SWIBS; and Xing Yuanyuan, Executive Director of CBDI (Beijing), along with other relevant staff.
