Uni signs MoU with Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce
The University's Director of International Development, Andrew Mandebura (left), signs the Memorandum of Understanding with the Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce's Vice-President Xie Dong.
Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:54:00 BST
Computing, engineering and textile design are the key areas for collaboration
Suzhou canal
THE University of Huddersfield, based in an area with a long tradition of high quality textile design and manufacture, has forged a special relationship with a Chinese institution from a region with a centuries-old heritage of silk production.
Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce (SITC) is located in a city – close to Shanghai – that is more than 2,500 years-old and noted for its ancient canal network. Its many areas of teaching and research include silk production, ensuring that the region remains a centre of excellence for this fabric.
Now a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between SITC and the University of Huddersfield and key areas in which the two institutions will collaborate include computing and engineering plus textile design, which is a long-standing speciality at the UK university.
A team of 19 members of the staff of SITC paid a visit to Huddersfield in order to sign the memorandum. The party was headed by Xie Dong, who is a Vice-President of the Institute.
Huddersfield now joins a global network of partnerships that has been developed by SITC in countries that include the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France and Denmark. It is expected that there will be reciprocal exchange research and teaching visits by Suzhou and Huddersfield staff and that students from the Chinese institution will come to the UK.
The link that led to the Memorandum of Understanding was forged by the University of Huddersfield’s China Office, which has its headquarters in Beijing and branches in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
