International Exchanges
Chapter 6
International Exchanges
2. Establishing Schools for Children of Foreigners
3. Cooperation and Exchanges with Sister Cities
4. Exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan
5. Sino-Foreign Joint Educational Programs
1. International Students
By the end of 2005 there were 26,190 international students studying in 23 institutions of higher education in Shanghai. Seventy-three percent of them were long-term students working on their degrees, while 27% were short-term, non-graduating students. There was an approximately 20% growth of international students in 2005 over that in 2004. In addition, the number of long-term students increased by 32.8% and one-third of them were degree students. In contrast, the number of short-term students recorded a drop of 9.7% compared with that of the previous year.
Five institutions of higher education in Shanghai—Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, East China Normal University, Tongji University, and Shanghai International Studies University—enrolled over 2,000 international students in 2005. Another five universities, namely Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai University, Shanghai Normal University, Donghua University, and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, had more than 1,000 international students. Fudan University had the largest international student population of 5,400, while Donghua University enjoyed the fastest growth of 81.7% over 2004. International student populations in other institutions also increased to varying degrees.
Special government funds were provided for the development of international student education. In particular, Shanghai International Students Scholarships scheme, which was set up to help international students study and live in Shanghai, operated at three levels: full scholarship; partial scholarship; scholarship based on excellent performance.
2. Establishing Schools for Children of Foreigners
There are 21 international schools for children of foreign personnel in Shanghai, including six independent kindergartens and seven after-school centers. In recent years, these schools have been experiencing rapid growth in enrolment. By the end of 2005, there were 16,323 foreign students in these schools. Four of these schools had a student population over 1,000: Shanghai American School (2,303 students), Shanghai Japanese School (2,179), Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (1,507), and Shanghai Singapore International School (1,164). Besides the above-mentioned 21 schools, there are five educational institutions (four senior high schools and one kindergarten) in Shanghai that have international divisions, with altogether 2,194 foreign students.
The schools for children of foreign personnel in Shanghai fall into three types: (1) those following the International Baccalaureate Organization’s (IBO) syllabus, such as Shanghai Changning International School and Yew Chung International School of Shanghai; (2) those following the syllabus of the original country of the students, with their teaching programs recognized and supervised by the homeland educational administrations, such as the French School of Shanghai, Deutsche Schule Shanghai, Shanghai Japanese School, and Shanghai Korean School; and (3) the International Divisions of the senior and junior high schools and primary schools in Shanghai, such as the International Divisions of Shanghai High School, Jincai High School, and Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten. These schools are largely located in areas where foreigners live, such as Jinqiao and Kangqiao areas in Pudong New Area, Gubei area in Changning District and its neighboring areas in Minhang and Qingpu Districts. Over half of these schools are located in Minhang District.
3. Cooperation and Exchanges with Sister Cities
In 2005, the MEC of Shanghai received 440 foreign visitors in 67 delegations from 31 countries and regions, of which 46 in 13 delegations were ministers or deputy ministers of education. For many years, the MEC of Shanghai has initiated multifarious cooperation and exchanges at different levels with its foreign counterparts, such as exchange of students, teachers, and textbooks. A system of regular communication and exchange has been in place for a long time.
At present, the MEC of Shanghai has signed agreements on educational cooperation and exchanges with its 14 foreign counterparts in 11 sister cities, namely, Osaka (Osaka University), Yokohama (Yokohama University), the Municipal Education Bureau of Busan in Korea, the High Education Bureau of the Région Rhône-Alpes in France, the Municipal Education and Sports Bureau of Hamburg in Germany, Municipal Education Bureau of St. Petersburg of Russia, the Municipal Government of Gdan’sk in Poland, the State Educa- tion and Sports Commission and Education Bureau of Vocational Training of Queensland in Australia, the Board of Directors of Public Schools of California in America, the provincial Ministry of Education of Quebec in Canada, the Ministry of Education of Jalisco of Mexico, and the Municipal Ministry of Education of Santiago de Cuba. Such exchange activities have pushed forward Shanghai’s international educational cooperation.
4. Exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan
Educational exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan constitute an important item on the government’s agenda. In recent years, there has been a constant increase both in the student population from these three regions and in the level of education they pursue.
In 2005, there were 1,679 registered students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese students in institutions of higher education in Shanghai. Specifically, 933 of them (55.6%) were studying in eight institutions under the administration of the MOE, while 746 of them (44.4%) were in institutions under the administration of the SMC. Of these students, 344 were from Hong Kong, 298 from Macao, 816 from Taiwan, and the remaining 221 are overseas Chinese. Ten thousand and six of them were undergraduates, 312 PhD candidates, 265 higher degree candidates, 29 pre-U students, and 67 transferred students. The total number of registered students in the Shanghai-based primary and secondary educational institutions reached 6,588, including 4,258 from Taiwan, 1,477 from Hong Kong, 153 from Macao, and 730 overseas Chinese.
According to the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Admission of Students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan and Overseas Students in Institutions of Higher Education issued by the MOE, students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan would sit for the examinations specially set by the state for this purpose. In 2005, 427 students signed up for the examinations, up 4.9% against that in 2004. The examinations were held in East China Normal University with 18 test rooms. Scholarships and grants for Taiwanese students were launched in autumn 2005, and these students started to pay the same tuition as their counterparts in the mainland.
After implementing the same tuition scheme for both Taiwanese and mainland students, regular institutions of higher education and research organizations which enrolled Taiwanese students are allocated a special subsidy of RMB 8,000 per student each year. In 2005, the Municipal Financial Bureau of Shanghai disbursed RMB 4.064 million to these institutions and organizations. The MOE Office for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs transferred RMB 428,000 via the MEC of Shanghai to those institutions as scholarships to be awarded to those Taiwanese students for excellent academic performance.
5. Sino-Foreign Joint Educational Programs
Shanghai has made great progress in Sino-Foreign joint educational programs ever since its trial in 1991, which gave birth to the first Sino-Foreign joint school. There are now 221 joint programs and schools in Shanghai, including 167 programs, 29 independent organizations, and 25 institutions without the status of a corporate body. These programs cover every phase of education, except that of compulsory education. Among the existing programs, 76 (or 34.4%) are under the non-academic education category and 145 (or 65.5%) fall under the academic education category, with 121 related to higher education and 24 to secondary education.
The foreign partners are from 18 countries and regions including the US, the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Japan, Ireland, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The Sino-Foreign joint educational programs cover a wide range of specializations: 36% in finance, economics, and business administration; 28% in foreign languages; and 15% in computer science and information technology. Through these programs, some mature curricula, professional certification systems, and popular courses directly related to social development, but at a comparatively lower running cost, have been introduced to Shanghai.
These programs play a pivotal role in accelerating the modernization of education in Shanghai, as well as its socio-economic progress. They have enhanced Shanghai’s ability to provide education, directly increased the influx of foreign investment, improved school facilities and infrastructure, established a multi-channel, multi-pattern educational system, and provided students with a wide variety of choices. With the Sino-Foreign joint educational programs as an example of the reform and development taking place in global education, especially higher education, education in Shanghai will integrate more smoothly into the global educational system.
A number of new specializations came into being thanks to the programs, forming a new educational pattern. Based on frequent international cooperation in the 1980s, Shanghai University of Science and Technology started active exploration, from 1994, into a new educational pattern focusing on the cultivation of undergraduates. So far, it has established ten specializations in five colleges for joint programs. Ten percent of its students were involved in the programs, and two-thirds of its students benefited directly from the favorable conditions created by the programs. Many new specializations have been introduced through the programs, such as Jewelry Design and Processing offered by Tongji-Australia College of High Technology in Tongji University; Landscape Architecture (flowers and plants) in Shanghai Commercial Polytechnic; and Fashion Design in the Sino-French Institute of Fashion Design in Shanghai University of Engineering Technology. The key to the success of these specializations lies in their close tie with industrial development. These specializations have brought out talents warmly welcomed by industries and enterprises.
Through these joint education programs, advanced educational concepts and modes were introduced. The higher vocational education is a case in point. The concepts and modes thus introduced helped the higher vocational education in Shanghai with development of specializations and curricula. For example, Shanghai Commercial Polytechnic collaborated with Southern Sydney Institute of TAFE to offer International Business and Senior Accounting. It quickly incorporated, through these two specializations, the Australian curricula, teaching guidelines, implementation schedule, and test approaches. It also restructured its existing specializations, created new ones, and explored the mode of higher vocational education suitable to China.
Through the joint English programs, advanced learning materials and latest pedagogies were introduced. The Chinese partners have benefited from the foreign partners’ concept of and experience in educational management, which were then applied to the development of specializations and cultivation of bilingual teaching staff. Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade presents a good example. It introduced foreign textbooks, reconstructed its original specializations, and cultivated an effective bilingual teaching staff. This has greatly improved the institute’s provision of education for overseas students.
To enhance Shanghai’s competitiveness on the international education scene and accelerate the introduction of quality educational resources from abroad, the MEC of Shanghai is committed to improving the running of local schools to make them internationally competitive, introducing foreign cooperative programs in light of urban development and social progress, and considering the characteristics and levels of different types of schools. Shanghai also launched some joint projects with internationally renowned universities. Examples include the special program on multilateral affairs between East China Normal University and Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationals; the program of electronic and computer engineering between Shanghai Jiaotong University and Georgia Institute of Technology; Shanghai British College USST, co-founded by Shanghai University of Science and Technology, and 11 universities in the UK, including the University of Manchester, Sheffield University, University of Leeds, and University of Liverpool; and Shanghai Jiaotong-Michigan United College, jointly established by Shanghai Jiaotong University and University of Michigan.
At the same time, Shanghai has strengthened the standardized management of the Sino-Foreign joint educational programs in order to ensure their sound development. To this end, foreign speculators are prohibited from venturing into the education sector through unqualified organizations at home. Having a standardized management in place also helps protect the legitimate rights of school partners, the involved institutions, and the learners. After a year of prudent checks and re-evaluation, 45 unqualified educational institutions and projects have been ordered to close down. The MEC of Shanghai has put in place a quality certification system for all Sino-Foreign joint educational institutions and programs with a view to regulating the collaborative institutions and programs for higher quality. It has also established a quality certification committee to guide and supervise the joint educational programs.