Queen's University Belfast today announced its intention to establish a China Queen's College in partnership with the China Medical University, in Shenyang, one of China's top ranked universities for Health Sciences.

This partnership will see some 1000 Chinese students studying for Queen’s University Belfast degrees in pharmaceutical science in the new College. The students will be trained jointly by staff from Queen’s and the China Medical University. The China Queen’s College provides a valuable opportunity for Queen’s to establish a physical presence in China, building on its current strengths and enhancing the University’s profile in one of the largest markets in the world for international students.

The new College, based in Shenyang, China, a city of 14 million people, will be announced today at a special ceremony at Queen’s, in the company of Madam Liu Yandong, State Councillor of the People’s Republic of China.

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The State Councillor, one of China's most senior government ministers, was visiting Queen’s to offer her support to the new China Queen’s College and to witness the signing of collaborative agreements with Shanghai Jiaotong University, Peking University and the Chinese Scholarship Council. These institutional agreements build upon the University’s existing links in China which include the £2.3 million Science Bridge project. This project has seen Queen’s technologies being used in the construction of the China Bird Nest Olympic Stadium, Hangzhou Bay Sea Crossing Bridge, and thermal power generation plants and power systems across China.

Welcoming the new College, Queen’s President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Peter Gregson said: "The year 2012 in China is known as the ‘Year of the Dragon’, a symbol of good fortune and a sign of intense power. Today's agreements with Shanghai Jiaotong University, Peking University and Chinese Scholarship Council and the announcement of our intention to establish the China Queen’s College are a sign of the powerful relationships that Queen’s University has built with its Chinese partners and a symbol of the good fortune for Northern Ireland through its strengthened links with an internationally recognised super power.

"The creation of a joint College with one of China’s top Health Sciences universities is based on a real and vibrant partnership. It will provide many opportunities and deliver real outcomes for society in China, in the UK and in Ireland.

"Madam Liu’s visit today confirms her government’s intention to continue to support Queen’s partnerships in China and, we in turn, are committed to developing mutually beneficial partnerships with institutions in China."

(CD/GK)