CityU should consider making its presence felt in the western part of the Chinese mainland through close collaboration with Chongqing, according to Dr Zhu Guobin, Director of the External Liaison and Cooperation Office (ELCO). He led a delegation of six to visit the rapidly developing municipality, 18-21 April. Having met and discussed with authorities and management staff, the delegation identified several areas of mutual interest worth further exploration.

 

The purpose of the visit is to introduce CityU’s strength in professional and specialized areas to relevant parties, and to explore opportunities for establishing a role in training and education on the western part of the mainland. In addition, the delegation members look forward to more exchanges with their counterparts in reputable universities in Chongqing.  

 

Members of the delegation comprised representatives from various faculties and units, including, Dr Ka-ho Mok, Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Mr Bing Ling, Associate Dean, School of Law; Dr C S Teng, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing; Ms Shirley Lam, Associate Director, CityU Extension, and Ms Candy Chouk, Executive Officer, ELCO. The delegation was warmly received by a number of Government offices and universities in Chongqing: Chongqing Municipality's Organiztaion Department of the Party; Chongqing Municipality’s State Assets Administrative Bureau; the Chongqing General Chamber of Commerce; Chongqing University; the  Southwest University of Political Science and Law; and the Chongqing Technology and Business University.

 

Possible areas of collaboration:

l          professional and tailor-made training programmes for mainland civil servants and/or chief executives of state-owned enterprises, in the areas of strategic, crisis, business and human resources management, public administration;

l         joint degree / postgraduate programmes, e.g., EMBA, LLM, Global Gateway or language subjects, to benefit both local and mainland students; and

l         exhibitions, visits, seminars, conferences, and other activities to promote staff, student, academic and/or cultural exchanges.

 

“We had extensive discussions with senior staff members of Chongqing University and the Southwest University of Politics and Law,” Mr Bing Ling remarked. "Both universities indicated keen interest in developing a wide range of cooperative ties with CityU. There also appears to be a strong possibility of a long-term, strategic cooperative relationship between Southwest and CityU Law School.” Other delegation members shared the view that CityU should actively explore the feasibility of responding to the increasing demand for tertiary education and manpower training in Chongqing.

 

“The trip to Chongqing was successful and fruitful. We have made the first step to establishing a good network with our counterparts in the western China region,” Dr Zhu said. To take advantage of the “Opening-up of the West” strategy, the ELCO will work closely with related faculties and departments to follow up on ways to tap into the Chongqing market.