Recently, the Ministry of Education officially issued the "Approval of the Sino-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools in the Second Half of 2018". Among 36 programs approved across the country, GZU has been authorized to run an undergraduate program in Tourism Management jointly withLincoln University (LU) in the United Kingdom. GZU was the only university authorized in Guizhou this time, which marks a new phase of Sino-foreign cooperation in GZU.  

The Tourism Management program (code:120901KH) will operate during the 2019-2023 academic years. It is a four-year program, enrolling 120 undergraduate students once a year. As the program’s enrollment plan is included in the National General Higher Education Admission Scheme, prospective students will have to take entrance examinations to colleges and universities across the country.

According to Hong Yun, Director of the Office of International Relations, the first Sino-foreign cooperative education project in Guizhou was the master’s program in Project Management between GZU and the University of Quebec in Canada initiated in 2002. The cooperative undergraduate program in Tourism Management between GZU and LU, currently approved as the national Sino-foreign cooperative education program this year, has become a remarkable breakthrough for undergraduate cooperative education programs at GZU. According to the project terms, a “3+1” dual-degree cooperative education model, students will study at GZU for the first three years and at LU for their senior year if they meet LU’s requirements. Students who meet the academic requirements stipulated in this program and pass the examination will receive the undergraduate diploma and bachelor's degree certificate issued by GZU and the bachelor's degree certificate issued by LU. If students are unable to study at LU during their senior year, they will continue to study at GZU. They will be awarded an undergraduate diploma and a bachelor's degree upon completion of their undergraduate degree requirements.  

Li Jinhong, Deputy Dean of the College of Tourism and Cultural Industry, gave an introduction to LU. He noted that LU, a world-renowned university and one of the most modern and attractive universities in the UK, has been ranked the top ten UK universities twice. The International Tourism Management program is seen as the best major at LU, offering professional instruction and core curriculum. With over 98% graduate employment rate, the major ranks first for student satisfaction in the UK,. In the UK’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), the program won the Gold Award for TEF. Additionally, it ranked first in the UK by the Guardian in 2019. The “3+1” undergraduate education program for tourism management jointly operated by GZU and LU is based on the experience gleaned from the “3+1” undergraduate exchange program between GZU and the University of Perpignan in France. GZU, in a bid to reach the goal of building “Double First-Class” universities in China, will take advantage of the strengths in Tourism Management program and human resources. In addition, it will actively follow up the strategies related to the tourism industry scheme in the country, and also implement innovative education plans in an effort to reach the goal of shaping Guizhou into an eco-tourism province. Drawing on LU’s advantages in international courses, original textbooks, faculty and advanced educational ideas, GZU will work with LU to establish a system of talent training programs and teaching strategies. Through this project, GZU is expected to foster a high-level faculty well-versed in International Tourism Management, ultimately reach the internationalization standards of the Tourism Management program, and keep its competitive edge as well. It is believed that the project will make a difference in cultivating internationalized and innovative talents in Tourism Management, facilitating Sino-foreign cooperative programs for GZU’s goal of “Double First-Class” universities, and realizing the further opening of higher education at GZU in the new era.  

In Li Jinhong’s speech, he noted that GZU has already included the project in the 2019 GZU enrollment plan of the National General Higher Education Admission Scheme. GZU will shape the project into an outstanding model for Sino-foreign cooperative education at GZU. He hopes that GZU will be able to gather as much experience as possible in order to bid for more Sino-foreign cooperative education projects as well as Sino-foreign cooperative institutes in the long run, making greater contributions to more high-level leading projects.

Text: Pang Aizhong (GZU News Center)  

Chief Editor: Yin Zixi

Senior Editor: Tang Juan

Translator: Li Xiaorong

Proofreading: Zoe Novak, Zhou Jie