WMG at the University of Warwick saw the number of Chinese executives taking professional programmes in technology and business management more than double last year.

In 2010/11 year, 160 Chinese executives supported directly or indirectly by the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs (SAFEA) were involved in dedicated programmes at WMG. This is up from 60 during the previous year - on the back of a growing Chinese appetite for WMG’s expertise in project management, supply chain management and logistics.

The SAFEA Warwick programme is a tailored course for senior managers from most of the major state-owned industries and institutions. These include oil and gas, automotive, aviation, aerospace and defence and transport as well as the provincial government and banking sectors.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya said: “China is a global economy with a fast-moving technology base. There’s a huge appetite for knowledge to power that forward, and the Chinese authorities have chosen to link with WMG because of its global links, access to the latest technology and relevance to business. Our success with the SAFEA programme highlights our strength in delivering quality teaching with industry relevance. Executives that complete these programmes get a rounded experience. They get to improve communication skills, open their minds and build their networks. This is essential if they are to become leaders in a global environment.”

The programmes are specifically developed for each group of executives and typically consist of two parts – a three-month period of language training and selected modules delivered by WMG tutors at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, followed by an intensive two month period of teaching and project work here at Warwick.

The SAFEA programmes are widely recognised within China and WMG/ SAFEA alumni have reached many senior positions within Chinese industry and government.

Building on the success of the SAFEA Warwick programme WMG has, over the past four years, specialised in designing intensive short courses in the UK for senior managers from specific Chinese companies and organisations. During the last year, six bespoke programmes were undertaken at WMG with the total number of executives trained in programmes of this type exceeding 700. This success includes the introduction of completely new programmes with the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology and the Zhejiang Provincial Government.

The SAFEA 2011 Annual Report states: “This programme has promoted the mutual exchange between WMG and many industries in China. Training projects follow the mission of global vision, market innovation and social responsibility and students are selected by various departments for their potential. Over the last couple of years, the majority of training members are below 40 year old with master degrees. Over time, this training project has achieved its reputation for its outstanding outcomes.”

Further bespoke programmes with new and existing partners are already under development for next year and the Group plans to continue to build on the impact of its programmes with SAFEA.

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