RECOMMENDATION ON ENTERING A PARTNERSHIP WITH XI’AN JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
The Hague School of International Communication
Executive Summary
This report examines why the Xi’an Jiaotong University in Suzhou, China would be an interesting partner university for the International Communication Management exchange program of The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The main question this research is centered around is “Why should the exchange program of the International Communication Management faculty at The Hague University enter a partnership with Xi’an Jiaotong University?” The methods employed to answer this question were literature review and online research. The research showed that Xi’an Jiaotong University has favorable international and national rankings, offers great support for students and a wide variety of courses and their culture and values align with the values of The Hague University. This led to the conclusion that The Hague University is advised to enter a partnership with Xi’an Jiaotong University as the universities seem to be an ideal match.
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. METHODS 4
3. RESULTS 5
4. DISCUSSION 6
5. CONCLUSIONS 7
6. REFERENCES 8
1. INTRODUCTION
Participating in an exchange during completing one’s study is proven to have a positive influence on factors such as probabilities of finding a job or prospects on writing a dissertation (Messer & Wolter, 2006). Furthermore it is a well-known fact that intercultural experiences like an exchange are of great help when developing soft skills such as communication confidence or cross-cultural experience (Fellmann, 2014). It is known that students who study abroad can greatly benefit from this experience and not only grow as a person but also profit from a professional point of view. Presumably for that reason the demand for exchange programs is steadily increasing. Despite the fact that The Hauge University already offers a wide range of choices for students who wish to participate in an exchange, it is constantly looking to extend their partnerships. When looking for new universities to partner with, the Xi’an Jiaotong University in Suzhou, China was established as a good match for The Hague University. This was determined through preliminary online research in which multiple universities were taken into consideration. In this recommendation report the question “Why should the exchange program of the International Communication Management faculty at The Hague University enter a partnership with Xi’an Jiaotong University?” will be researched and answered.
2. METHODS
In order to find a well-fitting new partner for the exchange program of the Communication faculty, several steps were taken. Firstly, the current portfolio of the existing partnership universities was examined. When doing so, it was discovered that there was little variety of choices when looking at Asian countries. While for countries like Spain there are up to five partnership universities to choose from, there are significantly less options for countries such as Taiwan or Indonesia. This discovery led to the decision that finding a new partnership university in Asia would contribute to greater diversity of choices for interested students. Secondly, a preliminary online research that examined factors like accessibility of information and alignment of values concluded that the Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, China was the best match for The Hague University (THUAS). The findings of this research and why they led to the conclusion that a partnership would be beneficial will be explained in greater detail in the following results section. Thirdly, the university’s academic reputation was examined by analyzing rankings and taking a closer look at their research output. The results of the aforementioned methods will be summarized and elaborated on in the next section. The information will be divided into the following three sections: Culture and Values, Student Services¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and Course Offerings, and Reputation.
3. RESULTS
The first section covers the culture and values of Xi’an Jiaotong University. Already upon first glance it becomes very clear that internationality and intercultural exchange are of great importance. In one year the university welcomes on average over 1000 exchange students from 50 different countries and wishes to increase these numbers in the future ( (SOURCE). The importance of supporting and initiating cultural exchange also becomes evident through the fact that Xi’an Jiaotong University is the largest international joint venture in China by sustaining a partnership to the University of Liverpool. Moreover, a big emphasis is put on conducting research that is valuable to society in terms of humanitarian challenges. According to their vision and mission statement their aspiration is to become a research-led university in China that is internationally recognized for its efforts. (SOURCE)
The second section examines the student services and course offerings that are provided by Xi’an Jiaotong University. In terms of on-campus offerings regarding leisure time and extra-curricular activities one does not have to fear getting bored. There are 21 sports offered through PE-classes and more than 120 clubs and organizations centered around social service, art, entrepreneurship and science that the students can join. Concerning accommodation housing is granted to all international students. Options range from studios to six-bedroom apartments. Moreover, they offer extensive assistance for international students such as orientation days, airport pick-up and so called “buddies” that fulfill a mentor function. In terms of course offerings there is a broad range of courses that students can choose from. Depending on which field one would like to expand their knowledge in one can choose from courses such as International Relations, Business Essentials or China and the World.
Lastly the third section that needs to be taken into account is the academic reputation. When examining international rankings, Xi’an Jiaotong University comes in on the 313th place of QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) Global World Ranking and ranked at the 11th place within China. Throughout the last years the university has consistently been climbing up the rankings by several spots. According to QS the research intensity of Xi’an Jiaotong University is very high based on the number of published papers in relation to the university’s size. Moreover, Johannes Knops, one of their professors has just been named as one of the most highly cited researchers in the world.
In this section you describe the results; you do not yet interpret them. It is easy to confuse the Results and the Discussion sections of research. The simplest way to think about the difference is to remember that Results = Reporting (R = R). Simply answer the question: What did I find out from my research? But do not interpret what you found out. In this section you will also use and describe figures and tables to present your research results clearly. You will need special language to describe the figures: As shown in Table 1, according to the graph, Figure 4 shows a rise in…, the number of … has declined sharply.
4. DISCUSSION
Firstly, when comparing the values of Xi’an Jiaotong University to The Hague University one can certainly highlight the interest in bringing forth global citizens that showcase and apply intercultural understanding and open-mindedness. The ambition to produce research that aids in combating global issues aligns very well with The Hague University’s mentality of doing as much as possible to contribute to a better society and environment.
Secondly, the student services that are offered by Xi’an Jiaotong University guarantee a swift entrance into a student’s stay abroad. Taking care of the basics such as a smooth journey from the airport to campus and guaranteed accommodation lift a huge weight off an already anxious exchange student’s shoulders. Furthermore, the variety of courses that are offered enables students to expand their knowledge on topics they are already familiar with or start by zero on a completely new subject. This comes into play very well when considering that one of the reasons to pursue an exchange is to gain new insights and perspectives on the world. In addition, students have the possibility to use their leisure time effectively by joining one of their many clubs or organizations.
Thirdly, one can see that according to national rankings Xi’an Jiaotong University is ranked fairly high within China and has managed to gain a stable reputation in its home country. Although the university is scoring below The Hague University on an international scale one can see that there is ambition to continuously grow and improve, considering the fact that the university has constantly climbed up the ranking in the past years. Moreover, there is an evident amount of motivation when taking a closer look at their research sector. The university claims highly renowned researchers as their staff and puts out a high amount of valuable research.
In this section you must explain, analyse and interpret your results. Make sure you point out all the correlations between the results of the questionnaire, e.g. between questions on age or gender and other questions. The use of cohesion markers is very important in this section, as you will be drawing conclusions and presenting arguments: moreover, in addition, furthermore, for example, however, in contrast to, although, yet, in spite of, nevertheless, thus, in conclusion, therefore.
5. CONCLUSIONS
After examining Xi’an Jiaotong University according to the categories Culture and Values, Student Services and Course Offerings and Academic Reputation one can most certainly state that The Hague University could greatly benefit from commencing a partnership. The university positions itself well within international and national rankings, offers a great range of choices regarding courses and leisure time, provides valuable support to international students, and aligns very well with the values and culture of The Hague University. It is warmly recommended for The Hague University to consider a partnership with Xi’an Jiaotong University and let students from both cities benefit from the exchange of culture and knowledge.