Birkbeck signs MoU with major Chinese sport university
Birkbeck has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with one of China’s leading sport universities.
Birkbeck has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with one of China’s leading sport universities.
On Tuesday 5 April, representatives from Birkbeck’s School of Business, Economics and Informatics and Shanghai University of Sport (SUS) came together in an official ceremony to mark a major milestone in formalising the growing relationship between the two institutions.
Following the MoU, an agreement for a ‘1+1+1’ partnership is being drafted, which will offer Chinese students the opportunity to graduate from a three-year Sports Management postgraduate programme with Master’s degrees from both SUS and Birkbeck.
In attendance at the MoU signing were:
From Birkbeck: -
- Richard Tacon, Lecturer in Management at Birkbeck
- Sahar Erfani (acting as representative of the International Office)
From SUS: -
- Dr Hu Jinju, Director of International Affairs Office
- Dr Liu Dongfeng, Dean of School of Economics and Management
The ‘1+1+1’ partnership between Birkbeck’s School of Business, Economics and Informatics and SUS currently being drafted would allow SUS students to spend the second of their three year Sports Management Master’s Degree at Birkbeck. After returning to China to complete their third and final year, they would graduate with a Master’s Degree from SUS and another from Birkbeck.
Students will be eligible to enrol on a selection of the Sports Management suite of postgraduate programmes at Birkbeck during their second year. These programmes have been designed to develop within students a deeper understanding of management, marketing, governance and regulatory issues within the business of sport.
This partnership follows a recent surge in interest among Chinese students in the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre – the world-renowned sports research centre based in the College’s Department of Management.
Sean Hamil, Director of the Centre and lecturer in the Department of Management, said: “We are very pleased to be forging this valuable partnership with Shanghai University of Sport, one of China’s leading sport universities.
“The establishment of this 1+1+1 partnership will further enliven the global perspective of the classroom environment in these Sports Management programmes, offering the SUS students the chance to network and exchange knowledge with our cohorts of UK national students – many of whom combine their studies with full-time work in the sports industry.
“In recent years the College has proved a particularly popular choice for Korean and Japanese students who are seeking to learn from the success of UK sport organisations, such as the Premier League, and experience of the 2012 London Olympics, utilising this experience in careers within their home countries. The signing of this MoU with SUS is therefore further evidence of the attractiveness of our Sports Management programmes, and the College’s strong international orientation.”
Birkbeck has number of partnerships with other Chinese universities including Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology and Beijing Forestry University.
The College also has a number of Erasmus exchange agreements with leading European sports institutions.
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