Nearly 700 students graduated from Queen Mary’s joint programme with Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) on Monday 19 June, with an alumni chapter launch event for Beijing held on Saturday 17 June.
With further ceremonies to follow, around 1,500 Chinese students in total are graduating and joining Queen Mary’s vibrant alumni community. The visit is Queen Mary’s first to China for graduation ceremonies since 2019.
Addressing the graduates at the ceremony, Professor Colin Bailey, President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London, said: “Standing here I feel incredibly proud of each and every one of you, as will your families, friends, university staff and your peers.
“Today is about you enjoying the moment. You have each worked incredibly hard for your degrees and you deserve your successes.”
The latest cohort of students graduated on Monday with degrees in Telecommunications Engineering with Management, e-Commerce Engineering with Law, or Internet of Things Engineering. They leave equipped with not only excellent scientific and technological knowledge but also a great international understanding and an appreciation of the application of technology in global industry and business. The programmes draw on the academic expertise of both institutions, as well as the strengths of two distinct educational cultures.
Queen Mary and BUPT first teamed up in 2004, with the jointly run degree programmes being the first of their kind between a top Chinese and top British university.
During their studies, our graduates benefitted from world-class teaching split between the universities and now possess vital skills to employers in the UK, China and around the world.
Professor Bailey and the delegation from Queen Mary are meeting hundreds of alumni at events in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, who will be able to discuss their shared experiences at university and their careers to date whilst socialising and networking with Queen Mary staff and fellow alumni.
Queen Mary alumni form a global community of over 210,000 former students in more than 170 countries around the world.
The team will be launching alumni chapters in Beijing and Shanghai. The chapters will act as regional hubs of activity, bringing together Queen Mary alumni from different stages of their careers. Through the chapters alumni will be able to connect, in person and on the online platform Queen Mary Network, support each other, and get involved in a variety of annual activities including valuable networking opportunities, social events and mentoring.
Wednesday 21 June will see a further graduation ceremony for Queen Mary students at Nanchang University (NCU). The new alumni chapter will be launched in Shanghai on Friday 23 June, with activities concluding with a final graduation ceremony on Sunday 25 June for those at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi’an.
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