Shanghai students may earn a degree from a foreign university without studying abroad, thanks to Shanghai Jiaotong University's ambitious plan to cooperate with overseas educational institutions.

The first beneficiaries of the plan will be 100 undergraduate mechanical engineering students in Shanghai Jiaotong University. The school has launched a joint mechanical engineering program with the University of Michigan running all the way from first year through to doctoral studies.

"At least one-third of the courses will be taught in English by faculty from our US partner," said Zhang Zengtai, dean of the school's academic affairs division.

Some of the students will go to Ann Arbor to pursue master's degrees and then return to Jiaotong for three years of doctoral studies. These students will receive degrees from both universities upon graduation.

Similar joint projects will be launched in cooperation with other universities from the United States and schools from Britain, Singapore, Canada, Australia, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province. Among these schools will be Queen Mary and Westfield College under the University of London, the University of British Columbia, the University of Sydney, and the University of Nottingham, according to Xie Shengwu, president of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

In the wake of China's entry into the World Trade Organization, Chinese educators have realized the importance of learning from their foreign counterparts and internationalizing China's higher education.

"To cope with our foreign partners, we have reformed our education system and the students now enjoy more flexibility in selecting courses, switching majors and arranging their studies," added Zhang.

(China Daily April 9, 2002)