Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    AFTER nearly three years of development, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) is going to further expand its enrollment of students and especially expects more international students to study at the university’s Shenzhen campus in Longgang District.

    During a media reception Friday, the university’s president, Xu Yangsheng, announced that the university would enroll over 900 undergraduate students this year. The university will have around 3,300 students in total by the end of 2017. The plan is still pending approval by the Ministry of Education.

    There are currently three schools that offer 12 undergraduate programs including international business, new-energy science, translation and interpretation and so forth. A new bioinformatics program will be available for future students.

    Unlike most universities in China, CUHK (SZ) takes in students based on a dual model of enrollment. For high school graduates in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, the university assesses students based on their academic results on the National College Entrance Exam (NCEE) (60 percent), performance on a test designed by the university (30 percent) and a face-to-face interview (10 percent). For students from other provinces, the university mainly enrolls students based on their results on the NCEE.

    Apart from students from the Chinese mainland, the university is also endeavoring to attract more foreign students, said Zhang Shaofeng, director of the office of admission and career services.

    The university currently doesn’t have many international students studying at its Longgang campus. “We have 15 overseas students who are studying undergraduate programs,” Zhang said Friday.

    “We are working to attract more international students from the other continents, so our next step is to promote our university, including joining more education fairs and approaching local high schools in other countries,” said Zhang.

    Since the university is especially keen on passing on traditional Chinese cultures, said Zhang, all overseas students will be offered courses on Chinese language and culture. Zhang also said that they are talking with big corporations in Shenzhen to offer internships, jobs or visiting opportunities for international students to set roots in the city.

    Though the university is still not one of the most popular Chinese universities for overseas students, it is offering many overseas exchange programs for current students, said Jesús Seade, the special adviser of global affairs.

    “We have a whole range of exchange programs as we have partnerships with 38 well-known universities around the world,” said Seade. Institutes like the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Berkeley, London School of Economics and Political Science are among CUHK (SZ)’s partnerships.

    The university’s global affairs team is negotiating with other world-class institutions to secure more exchange programs. For instance, according to the adviser, a “3+2” program between CUHK (SZ) and the University of Michigan is expected to be finalized in April.

    “We are also talking with the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities at the moment and we will have the president of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania visit our university for cooperation soon,” said Seade.