UNSW Australia has signed a major student mobility agreement with China’s prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The agreement elevates the relationship with SJTU, which is already UNSW’s largest global mobility partner, to capture new opportunities for students interested in pursuing studies in China under the next phase of the Abbott Government’s New Colombo Plan. In what will be the single largest partnership of its kind between UNSW and its international network of more than 200 exchange partners, the new agreement provides reciprocal exchange places for a combined total of 40 students every year from each institution over a period of five years.  “This will position UNSW as one of the biggest potential contributors to the Federal Government’s New Colombo plan and will dramatically increase our mobility footprint in China,” said UNSW’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Ms Fiona Docherty. “Given that a typical exchange agreement with a Chinese university generally gives you a quota of no more than two students, this is a game changer for the entire business model that has governed the way Chinese and Australian universities have historically thought about mobility,” Ms Docherty said. “SJTU has one of China’s most formidable industry networks of research partners and an influential alumni community spanning multinationals and major Chinese corporates with the real potential to provide work experience and internship opportunities for our students,” said UNSW’s Director of China Strategy and Development Mr Laurie Pearcey, who is the former chief executive of the Australia China Business Council.

The agreement is being signed as part of SJTU Council Chair Jiang Sixian’s visit to UNSW, which will also see the formalisation of a partnership for SJTU to join the Easy Access IP network, where member universities offer most of their intellectual property to industry for free.  The visit builds on a strategic partnership signed between the two universities in August 2013, which provides a framework for collaboration in technology transfer and the creation of a joint investment fund to facilitate bilateral research collaboration. Media contactsLaurie Pearcey, 0404 885 088, l.pearcey@unsw.edu.au Denise Knight, UNSW Media Office, 0405 207 685, d.knight@unsw.edu.au