On the afternoon of 20 September, the Huashan Road campus of Shanghai Theatre Academy received the UK Higher Education Delegation. The vice-chancellors or other senior representatives from 17 UK universities, along with more than a dozen guests from the British Council, the UK Research and Innovation, and the International Department of the UK Education Network, which were the organizers of the delegation, visited Shanghai Theatre Academy.
President Huang Changyong of Shanghai Theatre Academy warmly welcomed the visitors from the UK. In the Smart Classroom on the ground floor of the Library, the heads of the functional offices of Shanghai Theatre, including the Planning Office, Research Office, Academic Affairs Office, Graduate Education Office, and International Exchange Centre, along with the heads of the Department of Dramatic Literature, Department of Acting, Department of Directing and College of Dance, participated in this exchange event.
The purpose of the delegation's visit to China was to enhance the connections between the higher education communities of UK and China. The primary focus was on developing research and education partnerships, promoting transnational education, increasing student and academic mobility, strengthening alumni engagement, and enhancing UK's perception of China's recent policies and higher education environment. The visit to the Shanghai Theatre Academy aimed to strengthen the mutual understanding and future cooperation between the UK and China in the domains of culture, arts, and creativity.
President Huang Changyong presented the Sino-UK collaboration in education and research at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, specifically the establishment of the University for the Creative Arts Hengdian currently under preparation as a Sino-foreign collaborative education project. The vice-chancellors or other senior representatives of the 17 university introduced their universities and subjects connected with arts and creativity, specifically the specialties and activities relating to performing arts and multimedia in film and television. Certain universities have already established long-standing friendly collaboration with the Shanghai Theatre Academy, while others are in touch with the Shanghai Theatre Academy for the first time. Both parties stated their eagerness to utilize this visit as a launching pad to conduct additional interactions and mutually enhance amicable collaboration between the education sectors of China and Britain.
Dom Hastings, Director Arts of the British Council China, presented the progress of cultural and educational partnerships between the UK and China over the past years. Daniel Brooker, Director of the UK Research and Innovation China Division, presented the vision of the China UK Innovation Centre, for which the Shanghai Theatre Academy would remain as a main partner and continue to contribute to its development and advancement. Nigel Harkness, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Newcastle University, discussed the UK Creative Industries Policy and Data Centre headed by him.
The visit concluded successfully after lively discussions and exchanges between the delegation members and the Shanghai Theatre Academy representatives. The cultural and educational cooperation between the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the UK universities and institutions has a long history with fruitful results. This visit will enhance and extend our cooperation with the UK.
