Exeter Hosts Delegation from University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

UCASS was formally established in 2017 and is currently the youngest University in China. The University was established with the support of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a premier academic organisation in the fields of humanities, philosophy and social sciences, made up of 31 research institutes and 45 research centres. Exeter and UCASS have recently developed a study abroad agreement, which will enable UCASS students to undertake short-term study at Exeter from the 2018/19 academic year. Furthermore, there are burgeoning research connections between the two institutions and a number of initiatives across areas as diverse as Sino-British relations, new media, and political thought. 

The visit provided an opportunity for academics from Exeter and UCASS to discuss opportunities for working together in the future. On Tuesday afternoon, academics from the College of Humanities and the College of Social Sciences and International Studies, met with their UCASS counterparts for a research networking session entitled Understanding the Global Order and Global Communication: Sino-European Perspectives. A number of academic papers were presented on themes as diverse as Post-Western International Relations in Eurasia and Global Technological Displacements and Populisms. The following day saw the UCASS delegation join a colloquium hosted at staff from Exeter’s Politics department - Brexit: Understanding, Legitimacy and Implications. These sessions were complimented with opportunities for the delegation to meet with the Associate Deans for International and Development from Humanities, Social Sciences and International Studies, and the Business School where the future of Exeter’s partnership with UCASS was discussed. 

In order to build on these burgeoning research connections, Prof Lin Wei, Vice President of UCASS, announced that 10 UCASS faculty members would be supported to visit Exeter as Visiting Scholars in order to foster further academics links between our institutions. Jacqui Marshall, Deputy Registrar & Director of People Services and Global Partnerships, said of the visit, ‘I am delighted to host Prof Lin Wei and the delegation from UCASS at Exeter. We are excited by new initiatives which Prof Lin set out and we look forward to hosting visiting faculty and students in the months and years to come.’ 

The visit also provided an opportunity for 10 UCASS students, 1 representing each of the different faculties at UCASS, to better understand life at Exeter. UCASS students enjoyed activities including a networking session with a group of Exeter’s Modern Languages students currently studying Chinese, auditing lectures, and touring the Students’ Guild. Through the new study abroad arrangement, Exeter hope to welcome UCASS students onto a variety of programmes from the 2018/19 academic year.