Staff from a Chinese university recently spent five weeks at EIT in Auckland and Hawke’s Bay as part of a training and mentoring agreement.
The visit stems from a partnership that EIT has with Zhejiang Yuexiu University (ZYU). The Joint Education Programme partnership between EIT and ZYU began in 2020. That first year saw 230 students starting on the campus in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, Southeast China.
Approval from the China Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) paved the way for EIT to deliver its degree programmes in China. The joint venture supports the delivery of two of EIT’s degrees, the Bachelor of Creative Practice and the Bachelor of Computing Systems, with two majors offered in Information Systems and Intelligent Systems.
ZYU staff visited EIT for the purposes of their training. During their time at EIT they developed an understanding of contemporary New Zealand teaching, learning and assessment methods, while spending time enhancing their English language proficiency.
Earlier this year an EIT delegation visited China where it held joint management, teaching and academic meetings to further the partnership and attended the very first graduation ceremony of EIT Data Science and Communication College of Zhejiang Yuexiu University students, who started in 2020.
The delegation of senior EIT staff, were joined by the EIT Deputy Dean of the Data Science and Communication College who is a resident in China.
John West, EIT’s Executive Dean: Faculty of Commerce and Technology, says the visit was symbolic of the success of the partnership between EIT and ZYU.
“Visits like this build on the solid basis of the relationship and it was a pleasure to host our colleagues from China in this way and for them to experience our culture, campus life and academic practices.”
“We are pleased that our staff have the opportunity to teach in China and for us to welcome ZYU lecturers with the ultimate aim of providing quality education for all out students.”