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The Chinese Ambassador and Lord Prescott have officially opened The University of Nottingham’s new School of Contemporary Chinese Studies.
His Excellency Liu Xiaoming, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the UK, joined the former Deputy Prime Minster to open the Si Yuan Centre which has been built to house the University’s School of Contemporary Chinese Studies (SCCS) — a leading national and international institute dedicated to research and degree programmes about the study of China.
The SCCS was established in 2007 to bring together the former Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies with the China Policy Institute (CPI). The school also houses the prestigious Nottingham Confucius Institute.
Sustainable features
The new low carbon, £4million academic facility is located on the University’s Jubilee campus and provides a peaceful and creative environment for teaching and the study of Chinese language and culture. It will also be used for the display of visiting exhibits and Chinese artefacts and for hosting sino-UK business engagement events.
The centre sits amongst a number of ground-breaking creations of stunning aesthetics on the campus, but the new iconic structure also sets a new standard in sustainability amongst the existing collection of low carbon buildings.
International educational offering
Over recent years, the University has committed considerable resource to the development of its educational offer within the UK and China, particularly through its Chinese studies programme. The institution prides itself on providing educational opportunities to students both in the UK and Asia, particularly from its internationally based campus in Ningbo.
Professor Shujie Yao, a well-known economist specialising in China, founding head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies and director of the Nottingham Confucius Institute said: “Since the inception of the school over five years ago, our dream was to build the best centre of contemporary Chinese studies in the UK and Europe. This beautiful and inspiring building situated on this picturesque campus will provide the exact physical space to realise our ambition.”
“I thank Dr Thomas Chen [a member of the University’s College of Benefactors], of the Si Yuan Foundationand our Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway for their generosity and support for making our dream come true.”
The Si Yuan Centre, funded by the Si Yuan Foundation, is part of Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor, said: “We are very proud of the quality and calibre of many of our buildings at the University, and the Si Yuan Centre continues to enhance the environment on Jubilee Campus with its inspiring style and innovative construction. The support for the development of the building by Dr Thomas Chen has helped us achieve a burning ambition for the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, and we are honoured to have H.E Liu opening the building.”
The University of Nottingham is a pioneer in international education and has a strong relationship with China. It has 42,000 students across its three award-winning international campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China. The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) opened its doors in 2004 and now has more than 5,500 students.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has 40,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘the world’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking 2011.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2011, for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news