Strengthening educational cooperation with China
On 18 April 2018, Norway and China signed an agreement on the mutual recognition of qualifications in higher education. The purpose of the agreement is to encourage more, as well as academically relevant, exchange agreements between Norwegian and Chinese universities and university colleges.
– After the normalization of the political relationship between Norway and China in 2016, cooperation between the two countries has become an important item on the Norwegian agenda, says Terje Mørland, Director General of NOKUT.
He was part of a large delegation of representatives from Norwegian higher education institutions visiting Beijing in April.
– From the Norwegian point of view, China is a highly prioritized partner of cooperation within higher education and research, a fact that is reflected in the Norwegian government’s Panorama Strategy, Mørland continues.
China puts emphasis on education
– China’s goal is to become an international leader within global education by 2050. To achieve this goal, China is launching extensive measures and reforms on all levels of its educational system. It also aims to play a larger role in the establishment of international standards for academic mobility. China is one of five countries that have ratified the "Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education", which came into force in February 2018, explains Stig Arne Skjerven, Director of Foreign Education at NOKUT.
During the visit to Beijing, the Norwegian delegation gained a greater insight into what is today China’s largest development project within higher education, called the “Double First-Class Initiative”. 42 Chinese universities, as well as 465 academic subjects from 140 universities have received extra funding to compete among the best in the world. The so-called STEM-fields dominate the list of fields, but it also includes health, social sciences, humanities and traditional Chinese studies. Universities that do not reach the set goals of the initiative may be excluded from the list.
– Many Norwegian institutions already have agreements in place with Chinese universities that are part of the Double First-Class Initiative, and there are reasons to believe that the initiative will benefit further cooperation between China and Norway, Skjerven says.
The aim of international cooperation is increased quality
For NOKUT, the crucial aspect of international educational cooperation is its potential to increase the quality of students’ total learning outcomes. This has not always been the main consideration when Norwegian higher education institutions have signed agreements of cooperation with foreign partners. That is why the Director General of NOKUT, Terje Mørland, ends with the following admonition:
– Exchanges abroad for students attending Norwegian universities and university colleges must be academically relevant. Hence, it is vital that academic communities both in Norway and in China are involved in the development and academic grounding of educational cooperation.