INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIA NEWS DEPARTMENT — Week of March 08, 2010

Pakistan, Iran Discuss
Higher Education Collaboration
Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mashallah Shakiri called on the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr Javaid R Laghari, to discuss the prospects of cooperation between the two countries in the higher education sector.

The ambassador said that Iran and Pakistan have always enjoyed genial relations, saying, "We think of Pakistan as a suitable destination for the Iranian students." He stressed the need for joint utilization academics and universities in both countries. "We can not only cooperate in petroleum or gas sector; there are strong opportunities of collaboration on the academic and scientific front," he added.

Dr. Laghari said that it was better to identify the specific fields of teaching and research, wherein faculty members, researchers and universities may work together. The key areas will be identified and work at the university as well as government level would be initiated to enhance the collaboration, he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad will be visiting Pakistan soon and during President’s visit it is anticipated that agreements regarding the higher education would be signed. Both sides also agreed to start collaboration between virtual universities of both the countries. The Ambassador also offered a visit of selected vice chancellors of Pakistan to the Iranian universities so that further avenues may be discussed.

INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIA NEWS DEPARTMENT — Week of March 01, 2010

Collaboration Between United Kingdom and China
Draws Entrepreneurs in Competition.
A competition with a prize fund of £1m is being rolled out to students and local companies in the United Kingdom to encourage new business ventures between China and the UK. The China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge is a joint collaboration between the China Innovation and Development Association in the UK (CIDA-UK), University College London, University of York, Lancaster University, Queen's University Belfast, Chongqing Association for Science and Technology, and the Tianjing TEDA Science Park.

The competition aims to encourage new business ventures between China and the United Kingdom and is intended to simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms.

The overall winner will be announced at the national finals at University College London in June and events are also taking place at other participating universities. The competition was launched at the University of York and semi-finals will be hosted in April by Lancaster University and Queen’s University, which is involved in the competition for the first time this year.

The competition, now in its third year, is divided into two strands – Innovative Business track for existing businesses in the UK or China, and Tomorrow’s Leaders track - for students at any UK or Chinese University. Both strands promote business ideas that use international resources or markets.

Thirty-two teams will be selected to take part in the competition in order to win up to £10,000 in prizes, with an investment opportunity of £250,000 in the finals.

Yu Xiong, a lecturer at Queen’s University Management School, is Director of the organizing committee of the China UK Entrepreneurship Competition. He said: “The competition has been developed by partners in the UK and China to bring together existing business and new student-led start-ups hoping to develop commercial relationships and exploit market opportunities through business collaborations between China and the UK.

“China is becoming a more and more important country economically. It has not been affected by the recession in the same ways as others. Business opportunities there are huge and it has a rising scientific and technological base that is increasingly attracting worldwide attention.

“Doing business overseas can be daunting for many entrepreneurs but the program aims to promote the opportunities that exist and to highlight potential stars to watch in the future. Those taking part learn a lot through the process and their ideas can translate to real business opportunities.”

Professor Richard Harrison, Director of the Queen’s University Management School, said: “We are delighted to be working with a number of other leading UK universities and Chinese authorities in this innovative program. We believe that the business ideas developed through this competition have the potential to make a significant contribution to economic development and prosperity in the UK and in China.  We are also delighted to be involved in a program that will strengthen our existing important partnerships with universities and government bodies in China.”

All sectors are eligible to apply but the business idea proposal must link China and the UK. This may be through selection of the target market for the product or service, through key supplier relationships or through joint development of the technologies or services involved.

Judges will assess each business plan on criteria including market and competitor analysis, project development plan, financial plan, risks and proposed mitigating factors, management of intellectual property and promotion of UK-China business links. Assessment will be through written elements and oral presentations at each stage of the competition. For more information on the competition go to www.chinaukchallenge.com.

About The China Innovation and Development Association in the UK
The China Innovation and Development Association in the UK (CIDA-UK) serves as a bridge between the UK and China for exchange of trade, education and culture and as a coordinator for local Chinese organizations. CIDA has fully utilized the potentials of local and overseas Chinese to achieve a series of goals by providing with opportunities for professionals, scholars, executives, businessmen and government officials of the two countries.

About University College London (UCL)
UCL was founded in 1826 as a radically different university, opening up English higher education for the first time to people of all beliefs and social backgrounds.  UCL is a modern, outward-looking institution, committed to engaging with the major issues of our times. One of the world's leading multidisciplinary universities, UCL was ranked fourth in the world in this year's Times Higher Education-QS rankings. No fewer than 21 Nobel prizewinners have come from the UCL community. Some 34% of UCL students come from outside the UK, attracted from nearly 140 countries around the globe. Our research strategy commits us to addressing UCL's 'Grand Challenges', by working together right across the university in order to tackle the problems that face us today - in global health, sustainable cities, intercultural understanding, and human wellbeing.  We believe in undertaking fundamental research and in applying it.

About The University of York
The University of York, at Heslington by the historic city of York, England, was founded in 1963 with 200 students. Since then, it has expanded to 11,000 students and has over 30 academic departments and research centers. York has been highly rated for the standards of its teaching, and its outstanding performance in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise is recognition of the world-leading research activity in York. Twelve departments were ranked in the top ten in the country with almost all departments in the top 20.

About Lancaster University
Lancaster University is a campus university dedicated to excellence through teaching and research. It is consistently rated as one of the top UK universities for research and teaching and carries an international reputation for quality within Higher Education. 92% of its research is rated as being of “international quality”.

About Queen's College, Belfast
The university was chartered in 1845, and opened in 1849 as "Queen's College, Belfast", but has roots going back to 1810 and the Belfast Academical Institution. Queen's is a member of the Russell Group of the UK's 20 leading research intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, Universities Ireland and Universities UK. Queen’s University Management School offers a range of discipline-based programs at undergraduate level in core management, economics, finance, accounting, actuarial studies and international business.

About Chongqing Association for Science and Technology
Chongqing Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering (CIMEE) is located in the Municipality of Chongqing, China, serving the western area and radiating to the whole country of China. CIMEE was established in 1959 and engaged in applied developments of “Opto-Mechano-Electrical” integration technology. It is specialized in the techniques of soft processing. It serves as a technological backbone of enhancing capability of engineering systems and possesses influence in the field of opto-mechano-electrical integration technology. It is now affiliated to the Chongqing Academy of Science and Technology (CAST).