2009 Press Releases
UCC strengthens its relationship with Guilin University of Electronic Engineering (GUET)
28.05.2009
A visit to UCC this week by a university delegation from Guilin, China, has further developed UCC’s relationship with overseas partner institutions.
28.05.2009
A visit to UCC this week by a university delegation from Guilin, China, has further developed UCC’s relationship with overseas partner institutions.
The five-person delegation from Guilin University of Electronic Technology (GUET), led by President Zhou Huaiying, visited UCC and the Cork region to build on its existing institutional relationship with UCC and also to embark on a new relationship with Cork Institute of Technology (CIT).
GUET, located in southern China in Guangxi Province, is a specialised institution whose key strengths are in Engineering and Information Technology. Whilst there are over one thousand universities in China, there are only four such specialised institutions with these disciplines. At present, cooperation with UCC is with the Department of Computer Science and the School of Engineering. An institutional agreement established three years ago provides for a “2+2” or “split” degree model whereby students from GUET spend the first two years at their home university, following a UCC-influenced curriculum, and then progress to UCC for the second two years of the degree programme. Some 30 GUET students are currently taking “2+2” degree programmes in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Computer Science, and a smaller number are studying at Master’s and PhD level in these disciplines.
Arising from the discussions that took place this week, cooperation will now be expanded to include other branches of Engineering, with a special emphasis on Energy Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The President of GUET, himself an Energy Engineer, was very impressed by the scope and quality of UCC’s School of Engineering and, in the course of discussions with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Zhou formally invited Professor Karsten Menzel to contribute to the “smart building” technology design of one of the buildings of the new GUET campus. Professor Menzel leads a research group focusing on information and communication technologies for sustainable and optimized building operation.
The delegation also had discussions with the Department of Economics with a view to setting up a cooperation agreement in the area of Financial Economics. The Department already receives a large number of students from other Chinese universities on this degree programme.
The delegation also had the opportunity to meet informally with GUET students currently studying at UCC. Dr Zhou commented: “It is a great pleasure to see students from GUET so happily adjusted to life in Cork. The feedback I have received from my students is overwhelmingly positive. They are extremely impressed by the quality of teaching in UCC and are also enjoying the campus environment. The success of their experience here, allied to my close working relationship with UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, ensures that UCC is now GUET’s most important international partner.”
The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the National Maritime College of Ireland, a constituent college of Cork Institute of Technology in partnership with the Irish Naval Service and Focus Education Ltd. Since GUET has a satellite campus in Bei Hai, an important port for Southeast Asian trade, plans are now being made to establish a relationship between NMCI and the Bei Hai campus. President Zhou commented: “I was very impressed by the facilities at the Centre and I look forward to working with CIT in developing collaboration in the area of Nautical Science and Seamanship. I also had the pleasure of visiting Kinsale which, though a small town, reminded me of my own home city of Bei Hai”
Dr Michael Murphy, President, UCC, said he was delighted to welcome the delegation to Cork. “GUET is by now one of our most significant institutional partners in China and our cooperation model has been substantially enhanced through this visit. I am also very pleased that we are in a position to extend the relationship with GUET now establishing links with CIT. As the two key public institutions in the region, it is in all our interests to collaborate with one another in areas of mutual and complementary interest. Dr Brendan Murphy and I are both very pleased to work with Guilin in this three-way engagement,” he said.
Picture shows: Dr Michael Murphy, President, UCC and Dr Zhou Huaiying, President, GUET.
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GUET, located in southern China in Guangxi Province, is a specialised institution whose key strengths are in Engineering and Information Technology. Whilst there are over one thousand universities in China, there are only four such specialised institutions with these disciplines. At present, cooperation with UCC is with the Department of Computer Science and the School of Engineering. An institutional agreement established three years ago provides for a “2+2” or “split” degree model whereby students from GUET spend the first two years at their home university, following a UCC-influenced curriculum, and then progress to UCC for the second two years of the degree programme. Some 30 GUET students are currently taking “2+2” degree programmes in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Computer Science, and a smaller number are studying at Master’s and PhD level in these disciplines.
Arising from the discussions that took place this week, cooperation will now be expanded to include other branches of Engineering, with a special emphasis on Energy Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The President of GUET, himself an Energy Engineer, was very impressed by the scope and quality of UCC’s School of Engineering and, in the course of discussions with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Zhou formally invited Professor Karsten Menzel to contribute to the “smart building” technology design of one of the buildings of the new GUET campus. Professor Menzel leads a research group focusing on information and communication technologies for sustainable and optimized building operation.
The delegation also had discussions with the Department of Economics with a view to setting up a cooperation agreement in the area of Financial Economics. The Department already receives a large number of students from other Chinese universities on this degree programme.
The delegation also had the opportunity to meet informally with GUET students currently studying at UCC. Dr Zhou commented: “It is a great pleasure to see students from GUET so happily adjusted to life in Cork. The feedback I have received from my students is overwhelmingly positive. They are extremely impressed by the quality of teaching in UCC and are also enjoying the campus environment. The success of their experience here, allied to my close working relationship with UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, ensures that UCC is now GUET’s most important international partner.”
The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the National Maritime College of Ireland, a constituent college of Cork Institute of Technology in partnership with the Irish Naval Service and Focus Education Ltd. Since GUET has a satellite campus in Bei Hai, an important port for Southeast Asian trade, plans are now being made to establish a relationship between NMCI and the Bei Hai campus. President Zhou commented: “I was very impressed by the facilities at the Centre and I look forward to working with CIT in developing collaboration in the area of Nautical Science and Seamanship. I also had the pleasure of visiting Kinsale which, though a small town, reminded me of my own home city of Bei Hai”
Dr Michael Murphy, President, UCC, said he was delighted to welcome the delegation to Cork. “GUET is by now one of our most significant institutional partners in China and our cooperation model has been substantially enhanced through this visit. I am also very pleased that we are in a position to extend the relationship with GUET now establishing links with CIT. As the two key public institutions in the region, it is in all our interests to collaborate with one another in areas of mutual and complementary interest. Dr Brendan Murphy and I are both very pleased to work with Guilin in this three-way engagement,” he said.
Picture shows: Dr Michael Murphy, President, UCC and Dr Zhou Huaiying, President, GUET.
1125MMcS