Dr Andrew Spowage, Director (Industry) at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Research in Engineering and Materials Education, was recently invited to join a higher education panel discussion at the Times Higher Education’s (THE) 2024 Asia Universities Summit in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Sunway University.

Under this year’s theme 'Bridging frontiers: Changing the landscape of education in Asia', the conference gathered higher education leaders from 39 countries sharing insights on the challenges and opportunities facing transnational education.

Speaking on the panel discussion ‘The role of satellite campuses in promoting cross-cultural understanding’, Dr Spowage, who teaches at the Queen Mary Engineering School, NPU-QMES, in Xi'an, China, highlighted the unique opportunities of the Joint Educational Institution model (JEI):

"JEI are true partnerships between both institutions involved so that both students and staff have an opportunity to see both perspectives and to deepen cultural understanding through day to day contact as well as through joint initiatives. One such example is Queen Mary’s summer school programmes offering in London where staff from our partner institution Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) come to the UK for training on the latest pedagogical practices, whilst the students are given the opportunity to experience student life on QMUL's campus in Mile End and cultural immersion beyond the classroom."

During their time in London, NPU-QMES students are introduced to a plethora of enriching activities, visit museums, sites of cultural interest and broaden their professional exposure through exciting visits to companies and professional Institutions such as the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

The Queen Mary University of London Engineering School, NPU-QMES, a Joint Educational Institute with Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), was established in May 2016; the first student cohort intake was in 2017. Learn more about the School's course offerings.