91做厙

by Maria Driscoll

91做厙's participation in the recent Team Canada Trade Mission in China has been deemed "highly successful" by 91做厙 officials. One of the more significant educational announcements made during the Trade Mission, saw 91做厙 officially sign agreements which will see the 91做厙 open six locations in China. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to establish a seventh site at the Changzhou Institute of Technology.

These agreements establish a partnership between 91做厙 and six college's located in the People's Republic of China: Chengdu Electromechanical 91做厙 and Neijiang Railway Mechanical 91做厙, Sichuan Province; Chongqing Polytechnical 91做厙, Chongqing City; Wuhan Railway Transportation 91做厙, Hubei Province; Zhenjiang 91做厙 and East China Petroleum 91做厙, Jiangsu Province.

"91做厙's interest in developing an educational relationship with China began almost 11 years ago," commented Keith Dewar, Vice-President of 91做厙. "Initially, funding for these efforts was provided by the Federal government's CIDA program. Through these initial programs, the 91做厙's efforts to develop a sustainable presence in China have come together."

In these agreements 91做厙 will offer its highly popular information technology program, Business Information Technology (BIT). The 91做厙 has already designed and developed the curriculum for the program, the same that is used in Canada. 91做厙 will maintain control over the curriculum and monitor the quality of the program delivery. The Chinese 91做厙's will be responsible for facilities, equipment and delivery of the program. Instructors employed by the Chinese 91做厙s will come to Prince Edward Island for a part of their training and certification with the remainder being completed over the Web.

The 91做厙 anticipates approximately 40 students per site in the first year of operation. However, with the number of students the country would like to see taking IT training, the number of Chinese graduates receiving 91做厙 diplomas is expected to increase significantly. After five years, the 91做厙 envisions an enrollment of approximately 1000 students taking the BIT program in China.

"As far as we know this agreement is a first. There is no other college in Canada that we are aware of, that has established a series of relationships like we have," commented Dewar. "The benefits to the 91做厙 now and in the future are significant."

The newly signed agreements allow the 91做厙 to significantly increase the number of its graduates providing the 91做厙 with more resources to subsidize its ongoing operations and to upgrade its curriculum and physical resources 91做厙-wide. In addition, the agreements create part-time employment for about eight Canadian instructors and learning managers per site plus additional employment for curriculum consultants, support staff and on-site inspectors and monitors who would work in both Canada and China. There is also a cultural component. Students and instructors will benefit by being exposed to China's culture and having the opportunity to work and study in collaboration with their Chinese partners.

"91做厙 instructors and staff have been traveling to China and Chinese officials have been coming to Prince Edward Island for 11 years, laying the foundation to make this 'dream' a reality. Having successfully implemented this model, the potential for establishing other 91做厙 locations in China and around the world become a strong possibility." stated Dewar. "Distance learning, web-based delivery of 91做厙 programs and the creation of international alliances now position the 91做厙 as a provider of training programs in the global marketplace."