UK university targets Chinese students

Kingston University London is targeting the Chinese market, in a bid to enroll more Chinese students, university authorities said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.

Jasper Morrison, a fashion designer, Glenda Bailey, the chief editor of Harper's Bazaar, and Eason Chan, the Cantonese pop star, are all alumni of the school.

Kingston has a diverse student population, with plenty of places for Chinese students, Julius Weinberg, the school's vice-chancellor, said on Friday.

The university has about 25,000 students, with 3,100 from abroad. The largest international student population is from Norway, with about 500 people. It also has about 300 Chinese students, said Heather Forland, the director of International Development.

Kingston is famous for art and design, which might explain its reduced appeal to Chinese students, who are more interested in business and engineering courses.

According to the latest Open Doors Report about Chinese students in the United States, nearly half of students there are attending courses in the business and engineering fields.

However, the creativity industry is becoming more attractive in the United Kingdom and in China, said Catherine McDermott, a professor from Kingston's Design School.

"I've had many Chinese students, who brought fabulous ideas and different perspectives to class, and they took Kingston, and the UK's culture, back to China," she said.

To attract Chinese students, a scholarship worth 25,000 pounds, will be given to one Chinese student each year in the master program of Curating Contemporary Design, which is led by McDermott.

The scholarship will be awarded until 2020.

"I believe partnerships are the key to develop global universities," said Weinberg, adding that there are no plans for Kingston to open an overseas franchise so far.

Kingston also signed a cooperation agreement with the Beijing Language and Culture University.