Technological University of the Shannon have expanded their links with China, following the visit of a delegation from the Wuxi Institute of Technology (WXIT) to Limerick and Athlone.
Professor Zhou Guijin, President of WXIT, and five colleagues met with Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of TUS, and 12 department heads at the two campuses last week to sign a memorandum of understanding that brings the total of TUS’ partnerships with Chinese Higher Education Institutions to more than two dozen.
TUS has one of the highest approval ratings among Irish HEIs for Ministry of Education-approved undergraduate level programmes in Chinese partner universities with nine programmes approved in disciplines including Software Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Science, Graphic Design, Hotel Management, Civil Engineering, Business and Accounting.
Wuxi Institute of Technology received approval from the Ministry of Education in China to launch a joint school in 2019 with the first intake of students to programmes in Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Graphic Design and Software Engineering. TUS was pleased to welcome the first cohort of students in September 2021 to third year of programmes. Students follow two years of modules from TUS curriculum as well as their Chinese curriculum and have the option of transferring to third year of programmes at TUS. During academic year 2024-25, there are 330 students studying on programmes at the Sino- Irish School in Wuxi.
Wuxi, a city of over 7 million inhabitants, is located in Jiangsu Province, 30 minutes from Shanghai, where attractions such as Lake Taihu – one of the largest freshwater lakes in China – have helped the region to build a thriving tourism industry.
It is planned to extend cooperation between TUS and Wuxi Institute of Technology to post-graduate programmes and offer opportunities to academics from Wuxi to complete PhD programmes at TUS.
Wuxi Institute of Technology outlined plans to establish a new tourism school and TUS is well placed to share best practices with our partner. There are currently 134 Chinese students studying undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at TUS with growing numbers choosing PhD programmes. The President of Wuxi Institute of Technology
highlighted potential for cooperation with TUS for research in Tourism, Design, Business and Engineering.
Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of TUS, commented: “I am pleased to welcome President Zhou and the delegation from Wuxi Institute of Technology to TUS. I visited Wuxi in November 2023 and was very impressed by their development plans. Wuxi Institute of Technology has embarked on Technological University status in China and we look forward to hearing news in the New Year about the establishment of a new Technological University for Jiangsu Province in China. We can share our experiences as a new TU with Wuxi Institute of Technology.”
Donnacha McNamara, VP Internationalisation & Alumni, added: “It is an exciting time in higher education both in China and Ireland as we encourage greater numbers of students to consider studying abroad. Wuxi, Athlone and Limerick are well placed to attract growing numbers of students to our campuses and the signing of our MoU to continue our collaboration strengthens our partnership. TUS has an office in Shanghai for over 20 years and oversees partnerships with more than 25 universities in China. Partner visits between Ireland and China help us share best practice in international education. I wish President Zhou and staff at Wuxi Institute of Technology well as they embark on TU status in China.”
Discussions were held with Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of TUS, Donnacha McNamara, Vice President Internationalisation & Alumni, Mike Fitzpatrick, Dean of Limerick School of Art and Design & Director of Cultural Engagement, Dr Ciara Healy, Head of Fine Art & Education, LSAD, James Greenslade, Head of Department of Digital Arts & Media, LSAD, Dr Adam de Eyto, Head of Design, LSAD, Mike O’Dowd, Head of Department for Midlands Media & Design, Gianna Tomasso, Programme Leader, LSAD, Seadna Ryan, Dean of Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management, Dr Alison Sheridan, Head of Department of Business & Management, Breda Lynch, Head of Department of Mechanical & Polymer Engineering, Dr Enda Fallon, Head of Department of Computer and Software Engineering and their counterparts from Wuxi Institute of Technology.
The delegation from Wuxi was led by the President of WXIT, Professor Zhou Guijin with Deans of Schools at WXIT, Zhang Xiaoming, Director of Department of International Exchange and Cooperation, Wang Jun, Dean of School of Mechanical Technology, Cai Jianjun, Dean of School of Integrated Circuits, Zhao Shuang, Dean of School of Finance and Yang Min, Dean of School of Art and Design.