Victoria University will hold its first graduation ceremony in China on Sunday 22 June 2008 at the Peninsula Hotel Beijing, demonstrating its strong links with China. This is the first graduation ceremony held in China for a Melbourne-based university.

Media are welcome to attend

Seventy of the 165 students graduating will attend the ceremony. They will graduate from three higher education faculties and one vocational education (TAFE) faculty – most of the students are from VU's Faculty of Business and Law, and many now hold senior positions in government and commerce.

With eight university partners and more than 2000 students in China-based programs, VU is among the most engaged Australian universities in China.

Its programs are run in conjunction with the Beijing Jiaotong University, Central University of Finance and Economics Beijing, Henan College of Finance and Taxation, Henan University, Liaoning University, Shandong Jianzhu University, Sichuan University and Tianjin University Boustead College.

The graduation ceremony will be attended by 24 members of the University's Chancellors' Party, including VU Chancellor, Justice Frank Vincent, AO, QC, and Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Elizabeth Harman.

Professor Harman said VU wanted to celebrate the achievements of its China-based students, in a year that coincides with the country hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics.

"The graduation ceremony in Beijing presents a wonderful opportunity for Victoria University to honour our students and their families, especially in such a significant year for China,"she said.

Also in attendance at the Beijing ceremony will be Ke Li, who was a major force in establishing links between VU's predecessor institution– the Footscray Institute of Technology (FIT) – and the Beijing Institute of Physical Education, considered China's premier sports institute. Mr Li is the recipient of FIT's first honorary doctorate in 1986.

On the same weekend as the graduation ceremony, VU will hold its 2008 China teaching and learning conference, and an alumni function, to introduce its 2008 graduates to the VU China Alumni Network (Beijing).

VU is one of Australia's leading tertiary institutions with nearly 50,000 students, including some 4000 international students at its Melbourne-based campuses, and a further 8000 students at partner institutions worldwide.

Photos of the Beijing graduation ceremonies will be available after the event.

Event details:

The Victoria University Beijing Graduation Ceremony

Sunday 22 June 2008, 5.00pm

Peninsula Hotel Beijing

2008 Victoria University Alumni Celebration?

Saturday 21 June 2008, 7.00pm

Swiss?tel Beijing, Hong Kong Macau Centre

Contacts

Andrew Holloway, Director, Victoria University International, Victoria University.

Ph: (61 3) 9919 1016 or 0403 603 759.

Or Peninsula Hotel, Beijing

Ph: (8610) 8516 2888??? Toll Free 1 0800 852 388 (from China North)?

?????????????????????????????????? Toll Free 1 0800 152 388 (from China South)

Media Contact: Ann Marie Angebrandt, Marketing and Communications Department, Victoria University. Ph: (61 3) 9919 5487 or 0403 556 001.