Press Conference
Representatives from the University of Birmingham and Jinan University gather ahead of a press conference to launch the dual degree programme

The University of Birmingham and Jinan University today launched a new partnership that will allow students to study in China and receive degrees from each university.

Students will be able to take dual degrees in in Economics, Information Computer Science, Pure Mathematics, and Statistics, each with a strong core of Applied Mathematics. They will be based on the Jinan University campus and taught by both Jinan University staff and University of Birmingham academics on site.

The programme gives students in China the opportunity achieve high-quality dual degrees on the Guangzhou campus, whilst experiencing the teaching and study methods used at the University of Birmingham - part of the Russell Group of leading UK universities and a global top 100 university. Birmingham has a strong research background, with 11 alumni and staff having received Nobel Prizes. 

University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said: “The University of Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century. Our research has stretched the boundaries of knowledge and improved people’s lives around the globe.

“We have worked closely with Jinan University on delivering programmes in Mathematics. I am delighted that we are deepening our strong and well-established partnership with one of China’s most respected universities to deliver innovative dual degrees across a range of subject areas.”

Established in 1906, Jinan University is one of China’s elite group of the “211 Project” Universities. Mathematicians have been working with their Birmingham counterparts since 2011 on a range of teaching partnerships.

The President of Jinan University, Dr Hu Jun said: “Cooperative education under different universities partnership is an irresistible trend in the development of China’s education as the government has already put the development of competitive higher education and research systems at the heart of national economic strategies. In the process of building a world-class university, we must be global and rise to all the global grand challenges.

"An internationally diverse campus is essential to create a comprehensive university, which includes a substantial percentage of its faculty, students and workforce that are international. Thus, Jinan University and the University of Birmingham will work together under the intergovernmental agreement, with Jinan’s full support in providing facilities as well as highly competitive faculty and Birmingham’s efforts to expand development of a new model for education collaboration.”

Students apply to do dual degree with Applied Mathematics and four programme choices. There will be 120 places available for students in September 2017 and 1,200 students will be studying for dual degrees by 2020.

They will experience a UK-style education in China. Each of the four-year programmes will include innovative modules designed to develop problem-solving and team-working skills. These skills will build their ability to apply mathematics to real-world problems.

Professor Jon Frampton, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (China) and Director of the China Institute, said: "Launching these dual degree programmes marks the start of an exciting new era of close collaboration between our two universities and is testament to our growing reputation in China.

“This presents another exciting opportunity for the University of Birmingham to work in partnership to deliver high-quality education with a global impact, which gives Chinese students skills that are highly sought after by international graduate employers.”

The launch of dual degrees with Jinan further expands the University of Birmingham’s global teaching offer, with academic partnerships already well established with institutions in China and Singapore. Birmingham has also recently unveiled plans to develop a branch campus in Dubai.


• The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.
• It is ranked 7th in the UK for Graduate Employability (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey 2014/15) and was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment 2015/16 by The Times and Sunday Times.
• The history of collaboration between China and the University of Birmingham dates back almost to the foundation of the University in 1901. The University’s China Institute was created in 2012 to reflect Birmingham’s extensive academic activities its colleagues undertake in China.