'Invaluable’ agreement with China Scholarship Council signed
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The University and the China Scholarship Council (CSC) have signed a new agreement that will provide invaluable support to Chinese PhD students studying at Liverpool and help facilitate international collaborative research between the UK and China.
In 2010 the University signed an agreement with the CSC to bring talented Chinese PhD students to Liverpool to study on fully funded scholarships. This important agreement went from strength to strength resulting in the University having over 30 PhD students on scholarships presently, 11 of whom have been awarded in 2018.
The CSC is China’s pre-eminent postgraduate scholarship-awarding body. The funded scholarship programme enables talented Chinese students to undertake a PhD programme in world ranked Universities abroad. The scholarships with the University build on Liverpool’s existing relationship with China.
Key drivers
In late 2018, the CSC upgraded the joint CSC/UoL PhD programme to the status of being an individual joint programme, making it one of the key programmes of its kind amongst the world’s top universities. The CSC announced the University would be guaranteed 30, four year PhD scholarships across a wide range of subjects and all three Faculties at the University, from the 2019-20 intake. This significant announcement was the result of a joint initiative between the University and the CSC.
Two of the key drivers for the new agreement have been the University’s Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) and Liverpool Doctoral College (LDC).
The University’s work with the CSC has strong links to the MIF where many of the current CSC students are working. In addition to their core research training and study, the LDC offers a rich selection of additional training and support for all aspects of PhD students’ development. This including support for career development, industrial engagement and higher education teaching. CSC students will be able to make full use of this support.
Significant agreement
On 24 April 2019, coinciding with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Shanghai and Liverpool, a delegation from the University and the CSC attended a special ceremony at CSC headquarter office in Beijing to mark this significant agreement by signing a joint Memorandum of Understanding.
The document was signed by the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, Gavin Brown and CSC’s Deputy Secretary & Director of Division of European, Asian & African Affairs, Ms Li Qing. The event was also attended by the Deputy director of Division of European, Asian & African Affairs, Mr. Liu Chao; the manager of Division of European, Asian & African Affairs, Miss Hao Xiyan; the University’s Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research Environment and Postgraduate Research, Professor Simeon Yates; Director of External Relations, Tim Seamans and CSC Scholarship Coordinator in School of Physical Science, Dr Xiaofeng Wu.
Vital contribution
Professor Brown, said: “An international outlook has long been important to the University of Liverpool. We pride ourselves on both our international research collaborations and the internationalised learning environment we provide for all our students.
“The new agreement puts the University into an exclusive group of UK universities to have this guaranteed allocation of scholarships. These students make a vital contribution both to the University’s research activity and to life on campus during their time with us and often go on to successful careers in academia and senior roles in government.
“I would like to give special thanks to China Scholarship Council, both for the invaluable support it provides Chinese students to study abroad and for facilitating international collaborative research between the UK and China. I believe with this new agreement, our relationship will go from strength to strength and we will continue to celebrate the successes of our CSC scholars in the coming years.”
More information about the scholarships can be found here.
