You are here

UOW wins Westpac Australia-China Business Award

May 29, 2015

UOW wins Westpac Australia-China Business Award

The University of Wollongong (UOW), Australia, received a Westpac Australia-China Business Award on 28 May for providing quality education and training services to the Greater China region.

"It's an honour to have the University and its services in the China region recognised in this way." UOW Chief Administrative Officer, Melva Crouch.

 

Photo: Shanghai

The University was named a finalist for the Business Excellence Award for Education and Training category following a comprehensive application and interview process. UOW was named the winner at the Awards Gala Dinner held at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, which was attended by UOW Chief Administration Officer (CAO) Ms Melva Crouch, CSM, and Dr Bill Damachis, Director of Transnational Education Alliances along with several senior Australian and Hong Kong dignitaries.

“UOW is an enterprising institution with a multi-disciplinary approach to research, underpinned by strong industry partnerships and personalised style. It’s an honour to have the University and its services in the China region recognised in this way,” Ms Crouch said.

“It’s also validating to know that the many collaborations the University nurtures with Chinese partners are seen and heard,” she added.

Professor Joe Chicharo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Strategy), said the award reflects on more than two decades of UOW’s strategic engagement with greater China and confirms that UOW is well regarded as an old and trusted partner that contributes significantly to capacity building in the broader higher education sector in this major economy.

“Our engagement spans deep collaborative partnerships with leading universities, research organisations and industry bodies. We also partner with government officials on professional development initiatives, providing tailored training programs in business and public administration for Beijing Municipal Government officials,” Professor Chicharo said.

“UOW in Australia is also a popular destination for Chinese students to study. As alumni, these students form a large network of UOW educated professionals in China and around the world. It’s worth noting too that many of our alumni from China have been recipients of major awards from the Australia China Alumni Association.”

UOW, which generates around AUD2 billion in economic activity annually and is prominent in national and international rankings, has a number of strategic partnerships and collaborations with China-based initiatives.

Importantly, UOW was the first non-Chinese academic institution to collaborate with Baosteel, the largest government-owned steel company in China.

Also, UOW is one of four Australian universities involved in the AUD25 million Baosteel-Australia Joint Research and Development Centre, which is focused on exploring and developing new knowledge and technologies relevant to Baosteel's long-term, strategic development and business activities. 

Related stories:


Located 80km south of Sydney on Australia's east coast, UOW has also enjoyed great success when collaborating with Beihang University. The two institutions, with TAFE Illawarra, won the world’s biggest energy competition — the Solar Decathlon China — in 2013.

As an institution dedicated to providing quality education, UOW has fostered a teaching partnership with Zhengzhou University for more than 11 years. This partnership has seen more than 2,000 people graduate from a program with a teaching model labelled by China’s Ministry of Education as one of the most innovative and mutually beneficial models of collaboration with an international university.

UOW further strengthened its position as a global higher education provider in North-East China in November 2014 via a strategic alliance with the Community College of City University (CCCU) in Hong Kong. UOW was competitively selected from a broad field of high standing international providers to secure its relationship with CCCU, which provides quality tertiary education for nearly 6,000 students.

“We are taking CCCU to the next phase of its development and we are committed to enhancing the learning experience for students, particularly by enhancing international mobility for optimum graduate outcomes and strengthened industry collaborations,” Professor Chicharo said.

UOW Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings, CBE, said the award was an important recognition of the University’s growing engagement with China. ”China is Australia's largest trading partner and higher education is a key part of the trade activity.

"UOW is determined to be at the forefront of deepening bilateral education, business and cultural ties between our two countries as we develop a new generation of talent to create growth in Hong Kong and Greater China more broadly,” Professor Wellings said.  

More information

Australian and Hong Kong dignitaries in attendance included:

  • The Honourable CY Leung, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, who delivered the opening address;
  • The Honourable Richard Alston AO, who gave the special address;
  • HE Ms Frances Adamson, Australian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China;
  • Mr Paul Tighe, Australian Consul-General Hong Kong and Macau;
  • Mr Herman Hu, Chairman of the Council of City University of Hong Kong

Header photo: iStock