Maynooth University in Ireland has established a new college of engineering with a Chinese institution – the second Sino-Irish initiative to offer undergraduate-level courses.

The collaboration with Fuzhou University will see 1,200 Chinese students enrol in four Maynooth bachelor’s programmes in computer science, electrical engineering and robotics over the next four years. Graduates will be awarded with degrees from both institutions.

It will also support academic and cultural exchange and pave the way for future research and innovation partnerships in fields such as computer science and artificial intelligence.

Maynooth is recruiting a team of 13 lecturers plus administrative support for the venture as part of a commitment to developing a “world-class education partnership”. 

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The Maynooth International College of Engineering at Fuzhou University was inaugurated during a five-day “Education in Ireland” mission to China, organised by government agency Enterprise Ireland, aimed at promoting Ireland as a destination for study abroad.

Philip Nolan, president of Maynooth University, said that he hoped that the partnership “will prove to be a powerful model of third-level internationalisation – one in which we engage fully with and learn from the local culture and local academic environment, and strive together for world-class development by exchanging knowledge and collaborating on research in a deeper and more sustainable way”.

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He added: “Fuzhou is one of China’s leading universities, and a long-term partnership is the appropriate and ambitious way forward to develop a flow of knowledge, research and students between our two institutions.”

John Halligan, Ireland’s minister of state for training, skills, innovation, research and development, said that the joint initiative was an “auspicious moment for both Ireland and China’s collaboration in education”.

“Maynooth International Engineering College at Fuzhou University is an excellent example of international cooperation providing quality Irish engineering and scientific education to the region,” he said.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com