江苏留学网

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou officially opened its new South Campus on July 25 as a part of the school's 10th anniversary celebrations.

XJTLU was co-founded by Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province and the University of Liverpool in the UK in 2006, and had  fewer than 200 staff and students at the time. The university now boasts a vibrant community of more than 10,000 people.

With a vision of becoming a research-led international university in China and a Chinese university recognized internationally, the school looks set to have 15,000 students enrolled in the near future, according to Xi Youmin, executive president of XJTLU. He added that the current North Campus which can only cater for 8,000 students, cannot meet its expansion goal.

Different from the North Campus which has a linear approach, the South Campus is designed with a circular approach, taking inspiration form the classical Suzhou gardens.

The campus features a central park and a small lake connecting all the buildings, to promote an open and communal atmosphere, which coincides with the school's Five Star Educational Model.

At the opening ceremony, Janet Beer, vice-chancellor of the University of Liverpool, said, "We are very excited about the completion of the South Campus, for it not only provides equipment and facilities for scientific research, but it also will improve the students' learning."

Other celebrations also took place to commemorate the university's 10th anniversary.

An International Technology Transfer Center (ITTC) and an International Innovative Harbor (IIH) were also announced to open in a bid to benefit academic exchanges, industrial cooperation and the commercialization of research findings, as well as its vision to better social service abilities.

An agreement was signed between XJTLU and Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District (where XJTLU is located), to jointly build the Dushu Lake Entrepreneurial University, which will further the two parties' cooperation in innovative development and enterprise cultivation, as well as providing guidelines and training for startups.

XJTLU also collaborated with Gold Finance Group (GF), a modern financial group at the service of new-type urbanization globally, to establish a XJTLU-GF Financial Centre and a XJTLU-GF School of Film and TV Arts. The center and school will promote the XJTLU’s international education in combination with the group's financial and cultural resources, as well as XJTLU’s educational and academic advantages.