Dive Summary:
- While universities like Duke and NYU setting up shop in China is nothing new, Soochow University is one of the first Chinese universities to set up a campus abroad with its branch in Laos.
- Other Chinese universities are following, with Xiamen University planning to open a branch in Malaysia and Zhejiang University's signing of a deal with London's Imperial College for a joint campus in the U.K.
- While some experts say China's universities have plenty of work to do at home without venturing abroad just yet, the Chinese government, which encourages the country's youth to study abroad, supports the expansion efforts--though the universities still have to come up with the funding on their own.
From the article:
... ‘‘I think that China’s top universities have sufficient work to do at home that they do not need to expand into the risky and often expensive world of branch campuses outside of China,’’ Altbach wrote in an e-mail. ‘‘China’s global influence and prestige in higher education is best served by strengthening its universities at home and offering a ‘world class’ education to Chinese students and expanded numbers of overseas students.’’ ...