The Centre for Excellence in Developing Professionalism opens at ...

TOP:
Professor Drummond Bone with the
XJTU delegation
Xi’an
VIP
University of
Liverpool’s
partner comes
to town
T
he University has welcomed a VIP
delegation from Xi’an Jiaotong
University, Liverpool’s partner in its
newly-opened institution in China.
The four-day fact finding visit included
meetings with academic and administrative
departments and a tour of the city.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Jon
Saunders, who hosted the delegation,
said: “As partners in our higher education
venture in China, the visitors were keen to
explore opportunities for future research
co-operation between the two universities.
They were also particularly interested in how
A new strategy
Plan will tackle academic challenges
T
he University has put a new
Academic Strategy in place to take
into account the rapidly changing
environment in higher education.
Variations in funding, in particular the
introduction of tuition fees, along with an
increasing emphasis on accountability
to students and other stakeholders,
greater competition from other education
providers, and the growing importance of
knowledge transfer activities, mean that the
University must position itself effectively in
this dynamic environment.
we deal with postgraduate research students,
administration and recruitment.”
The delegation consisted of Professor
Xu Li, Vice-Dean of the School of Medicine,
Professor Genshu Lu, Director of the
Research Institute of Higher Education,
Professor Xiaoping Song, Assistant to
the University President, and Wenbin Su,
Director of the Teaching Affairs Office of the
Graduate School.
MIDDLE: Professor Tao admires the corporate advert for the China project
on display in the Foundation Building
BOTTOM: Professor Drummond Bone greets Professor Tao
Professor Wenquan Tao, who was also
part of the visiting group, has recently been
appointed President of Xi’an Jiaotong-
Liverpool University in Suzhou.
The Strategy takes into account
the needs of both undergraduate and
postgraduate students – from their
recruitment, through to graduation and
on into employment and their future
professional development. It also considers
the needs of staff throughout their careers
at the University.
In addition, maintaining and developing
the University’s research excellence, as
well as its collaboration and partnerships,
are vital parts of the new four-year policy.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Kelvin
Everest said: “In past years learning
and teaching, and research, have been
considered separately and had their own
individual strategies. We realise that this
could lead to ‘blind spots’ - contradictions
or gaps in our strategic thinking.
“Having a single strategy means that we
do not enter into commitments in one area
without due consideration of the other. We
are a research-intensive university, and we
need to ensure that this defining aspect of
our identity is properly integrated with our
approach to learning and teaching.”
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