Pair head across to China as new partnership blossoms

Katie Banks and Barry Lees with Prof. Zhang is Professor in Accounting and Finance at Dalian Nationalities University. She came to University of Cumbria for three months and was so impressed that she invited university colleagues to visit Dalian.

University of Cumbria lecturers Barry Lees, who lectures in criminology and policing and Katie Banks (International Coordinator), are going to spend a week teaching business school students at Dalian Nationalities University in the north-east of China on topics ranging from British culture, how to succeed in higher education in the UK, public speaking, employability and academic skills.

For seasoned traveller Barry it is his first visit to China. He said: “I anticipate that it will be like nowhere I have visited before.”

On his list of lecture subjects, are: the British sporting year, for example, the Grand National in April, the Six Nations in January; lifelong learning and sustainability in education, which includes how to maintain your skills post university and why graduates are more employable.

Katie has visited another institution in China previously and said: “I am really looking forward to the upcoming visit to China.

“I lived in China for five months in 2013 and worked as an English teacher. I am looking forward to going to a different part of China, finding out more about studying in higher education in China and how it compares to HE in the UK.

“I am also keen to get an insight into their perspective on higher education in Britain and British culture in general.”

The visit follows an invitation by Dalian during a visit there by Professors Diane Cox and Frank Peck in September.

In 2014, four senior academics from Dalian University spent three months in the University of Cumbria.

Last September MSc graduate Philip Bremen experienced a four-week stint before taking up a post in Germany.