LEICESTER, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, UK, is collaborating with two of China’s top universities to boost academic exchanges and research cooperation.

Nanjing University, in Jiangsu Province, has signed a partnership agreement with DMU agreeing various initiatives including UK researchers helping to recreate its city’s medieval past.

Liaoning University, based in the northern city of Shenyang, is exploring further innovative ways to work with DMU, building on the long-standing partnership between the two universities’ business schools which will see 19 DMU students studying in China from next week.

DMU’s Institute of Creative Technologies (IOCT), which developed the Virtual Roman Leicester project which enables interactive 3D tours of the buildings which existed in the city thousands of years ago, will help Nanjing University create a similar project for its city’s medieval past.

As part of the agreement with DMU, Nanjing University will offer five scholarships for master’s students from DMU to study with them. Short-term student and staff exchanges will also be run as well as further research collaborations.

DMU is offering doctoral study and research programmes with access to English language tuition and international scholarships. It is hoped that up to 20 PhD students will study with DMU in September 2011.

Staff and students from The International Education Service Centre at Nanjing University (IESC) are interested in the areas of English, law, journalism, film studies and business.

Professor Dominic Shellard, said: “I am thrilled to sign this letter of cooperation between De Montfort University and Nanjing University, which will support a number of key initiatives in the UK and China, and provide fantastic opportunities for students and staff at both institutions.

“With a strong heritage and prestigious history, Nanjing University is ranked 120^th in the world (according to Times Higher Education magazine), and I am proud to engage De Montfort University in this international partnership of quality and distinctiveness, which will enrich our research, teaching and cultural development.”

After his visit to Nanjing University, Professor Shellard is also meeting with Professor Chen Wei, president of Liaoning University this week.

Since its foundation in 2004, the Sunwah International Business School (SWIBS) at Liaoning University has worked closely with DMU’s Leicester Business School.

Colleagues from both universities have already worked together to create new international degree programmes in accounting and in management which allow Chinese students to gain a dual Chinese and UK degree.

Students initially enrol on the SWIBS programme for two years, and then have the option to transfer to DMU for the final two years of their degree.

Academics from DMU visit SWIBS every year to deliver guest lectures and help prepare students for studying in the UK. The programme has proved so popular that around 90 Chinese students now transfer to DMU each year with many going on to secure good jobs with leading companies in both the UK and China after graduation.

Martyn Kendrick, the International Academic Director for the Faculty of Business and Law, said: “This is an excellent partnership, and an example of international cooperation at its very best. It also provides a unique opportunity for students from Northern China to benefit from leading edge expertise and research in accounting and management at De Montfort University.

“Many of the students are particularly attracted by the prestige of DMU’s Accounting and Finance Department, one of only 24 centres around the world awarded ACCA Gold Study status.”

DMU students will spend time at SWIBS for a short summer school this year, attending lectures alongside local Chinese students as well as meeting managers of multinational companies, and visiting Shanghai and Beijing to discover what life, culture and business is like in China.

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