University builds welcome links with China
Details of a significant new partnership between a leading Chinese institute and Salford University have been welcomed by student accommodation provider Portergate Property Management.
The first phase of the link between China’s leading institute for built environment research and the university has been sealed with the launch of a new Joint Doctorate programme in the Built Environment.
The new collaboration with the China Academy of Building Research (CABR) has been facilitated by Manchester China Forum, a business-led initiative aimed at increasing Greater Manchester’s commercial connectivity with the Asian economic powerhouse.
The partnership will see the university build upon its existing and highly-regarded research capabilities in the fields of smart cities and building information modelling, big data and e-health, inclusive housing design, and low carbon retrofit.
The doctorate is to be promoted across China and will be available to postgraduates of building-related and engineering disciplines. In addition to the joint supervision of PhD students the programme will also incorporate a research staff exchange and a series of research collaborations.
Professor Martin Hall, Vice-Chancellor at University of Salford, said: “This is a very important relationship with such a prestigious Chinese Academy and the School of the Built Environment and the School of Computing, Science and Engineering which are our flagship research centres.”
“This partnership will complement the £800million Manchester Airport City project where Beijing Construction and Engineering Group is now a primary contractor.
“It is also an exciting opportunity for the University of Salford to develop further partnerships as over 50% of world construction is currently in China.”
Those studying for the PhD qualification will spend half of the course in Beijing and half in Salford, working with CABR representatives. The programme is expected to deliver initially 20 PhD awards per year.
The doctorate has launched as the first phase of a wider programme of work between the two institutions which seeks to boost existing expertise and skills.
Rhys Whalley, executive director of Manchester China Forum, said: “Following the recent launch of Manchester’s investment portfolio in Beijing, this is another significant milestone in our continued engagement with China.”
Portergate Property Management has identified China as a prime market for student residents at Riverside House, its hotel-class accommodation serving the University of Salford and the universities of Manchester.
Portergate is a full member of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and has embarked on a series of initiatives to promote Riverside House in China.
Portergate’s own research shows there are more than 400 students from China on the University of Salford campus.
Company chairman Anthony Jackson has also taken the Portergate portfolio to China. The company has featured at the Overseas Property Investment Show in Shanghai.
He was part of a team that met a delegation from China visiting Salford last year and is working to further ties for the company in China.
Riverside House, which is taking in new residents from the local student population all the time, is within walking distance of the University of Salford, an institution attracting more than 3,000 international students from more than 100 nations around the globe.
Work has also started on Portergate’s new Preston venture, which will be built in the university quarter of a city that welcomes more than 2,000 international students each year, representing more than 100 nationalities.
