Celebrating 10 years of successful partnership

As part of their November 2018 visit to China, Dr. Sauro Camiletti, Interim Principal and Academic Dean, and Marilyn Mason, Vice Principal, Enrolment Services and Strategic Partnerships, visited the Chongqing Technology and Business University (CTBU) to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2+2 program that exists between King’s and CTBU.

During the celebration of the 10th anniversary, the King’s contingent, which also included Dr. Sergio Janczak of King’s School of Management, Economics, and Mathematics (the School of MEM) and Lydia Li, Program Manager of the School of MEM, enjoyed a dinner, meeting with students and a lunch with students’ parents.

During the dinner, Dr. Camiletti was invited to speak. He discussed the strong, productive and successful collaboration between CTBU and King’s. He noted the CTBU students who have attended King’s have served as “tremendous ambassadors” and “have demonstrated academic competence, civility, engagement, determination, and professionalism of the highest order.”

Dr. Camiletti said it was an hour to celebrate the 10-year anniversary “secure in the knowledge that it is stronger, more productive and more successful than ever.”

“Everywhere we went, the hospitality was beyond our expectations. Our hosts were so incredibly warm and welcoming,” Dr. Camiletti says.  The staff and faculty of CTBU “really expressed the value of our partnership with them. We were really amazed to the degree of celebration of, and the satisfaction with, our partnership,” he adds.

In a 2+2 program, students from the partner school complete the first two years at their home university, then complete their last two years of study at King’s. After four years, the student receive a degree from both their home university as well as a Western University degree via King’s.

In 2008, the first group of CTBU students arrived at King’s as part of the 2+2 Agreement. As of 2018, nearly 150 CTBU students have graduated from King’s.

The students who take part in the 2+2 program “come here and excel. They are excited about being here. They are great leaders in their program and our community,” Mason says. She adds the program provides students “a great basis for their professional success.”

During the visit to China, which lasted from November 12-16, Dr. Camiletti and Mason also visited East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) and Mason visited Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (DUFE).

“King’s has really done well in securing our partnerships. We all share a strong dedication to our students and providing our students with a first-rate educational experience,” Dr. Camiletti says.