International University Education: Creating and Managing the MSc Course in Engineering Surveying and Geodesy at the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China

n 2004, The University of Nottingham was the first Sino-Foreign University to open a campus in mainland China. Today, the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China (UNNC) campus holds approximately 6,600 students and 500 staff from 40 different countries. Science and Engineering subjects are relatively new on the campus, but are all based on the long standing pedigree at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. In 2012, a new MSc course in Engineering Surveying and Geodesy started at UNNC, which was the same as the course in the UK. All the courses at UNNC are the same in learning outcomes as those on the UK campus, all the teaching is carried out in the medium of English and undergo the same stringent Quality Assurance. The University of Nottingham also has a campus in Malaysia, which makes the university truly global. Students attending any of these campuses have the opportunities of exchange at any of the other two, as well as many other international universities.
UNNC aspires to grow to 8,000 students by 2020, consisting of 20% international students and 15-20% postgraduate students, approximately 40% of which will be within the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
This paper details the model used by the University of Nottingham in establishing and operating the MSc course and research activities in Engineering Surveying and Geodesy at UNNC, and gives a case study of this parallel course.