China's 1st foreign-run college to be built in Hainan

On Dec 13, a formal signing ceremony between the People's Government of Hainan Province and the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences took place in Bielefeld, Germany. They reached an agreement for the first university in China to be independently run by an overseas school.

According to the agreement, the college is expected to start construction in the province's Yangpu Economic Development Zone as soon as possible. It will begin recruitment of the first batch of students expected for the 2023 fall semester.

Established in 1971, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences is located in Germany's economically well-developed North Rhine-Westphalia region. It is not only one of the leading universities for major German smart manufacturing clusters, but also the largest application-oriented university in the region.

With a planned land area of over 66 hectares, the Hainan campus of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences will have around 370,000 square meters of space and take on 12,000 undergraduates. This independent non-profit university will work with Hainan in several fields to improve the development of  advanced manufacturing, high-tech industries, and industry specialization. Such fields include the opening up of ports, intelligent shipping logistics, electromechanical automation, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, renewable energy, automotive technology, self-driving cars, economical engineering, international enterprise management, industrial level quality management, and product design.

On Dec 12, a delegation representing the People's Government of Hainan Province arrived in Germany to promote investment opportunities for the Hainan Free Trade Port. This is the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that a provincial delegation has led an investment promotion campaign overseas.

Representatives from the Hainan Provincial Department of Education, Danzhou municipal people's government, and Bielefeld University of Applied Science sign the cooperation agreement. [Photo/ Hainan Daily]