Peking University, Apr. 11, 2011: Peking University and the University of Warwick will strengthen cooperation in academic research and student exchange programs, according to a meeting between the visiting Warwick delegation and PKU.

Professor Nigel Thrift, vice chancellor of the University of Warwick, paid a visit to Peking University on April 1. PKU President Zhou Qifeng received the guests.

Professor Zhou firstly welcomed Professor Nigel Thrift and his delegation. The University of Warwick is a “miracle” as it has developed into one of the top universities in the UK and gained global reputation in just 40 years, said Professor Zhou.

China is in a stage of rapid development and he hoped that more Chinese students can have opportunities to study abroad in order to expand outlook, enhance capability, and make more contributions, Professor Zhou added.

Professor Thrift appreciated the history and campus atmosphere of Peking University. He said that programs in cooperation with PKU are more popular than all other oversea exchange programs at the University of Warwick as an increasing number of students become interested in China’s economy and society. According to Professor Thrift, students selected to exchange at PKU this year would arrive in October. Further, the cooperation with PKU in different research fields would be enhanced.

The spread of exchange programs for students between the two universities was the focus of the meeting. Famous for management and related fields, the University of Warwick will cooperate with the PKU Guanghua School of Management in programs for undergraduate, MBA, and PhD students. Besides, the university will launch an online Shakespeare school , which provides online courses for professors and students to promote the English culture. “Now 28 million Chinese students are studying Shakespeare, the number of which is amazing,” said Professor Thrift.

Background info:

Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom. It has more than 17,000 students, including 4,000 international students from about 100 countries.. A recent survey by The Times resulted in the campus being voted the best in the UK by a national poll of university students.

Professor Nigel Thrift was educated at Aberystwyth where he graduated with a BA Hons in Geography in 1971. After Aberystwyth he went on to gain his PhD in Geography from the University of Bristol in 1979 and his DSc from Bristol in 1992 as well as being granted an MA (Oxon) in January 2004. He is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Bristol and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford.

Professor Thrift took up his role as the vice chancellor of the University of Warwick in July 2006. He joined Warwick from the University of Oxford where he was made Head of the Division of Life and Environmental Sciences in 2003 before becoming pro-vice chancellor for research in 2005. Professor Thrift chaired Main Panel H of RAE 2008 from 2003-2006; was a member of the Panel for Geography for the RAE 2001; has been a member of the Leverhulme Prize Fellowship Geography Panel since 2000 and was a member of the ESRC Research Priorities Board between 2001 and 2005.

Written by: Lin Zhe

Edited by: Jacques

Source: PKU News (Chinese)