One of UCAM’s cornerstones is internationalisation, and for this reason, it has been collaborating in Asian countries for many years. In particular, with Chinese institutions, above all in the areas of health, sports and nutrition, in which UCAM is renowned worldwide, as reflected in numerous rankings. With the aim of strengthening and expanding these institutional, academic and sporting relations, a large delegation from the University, led by its president, María Dolores García, was in China this week, where it had a busy schedule of meetings, with very fruitful results.

New work areas

One of the main milestones of this trip has been the signing of a new agreement with Shandong Sport University, which incorporates new areas of joint work in tennis, eSports and dance to those already signed in football and basketball. Both institutions have agreed to promote the reciprocal mobility of students, professors and researchers, and to promote joint research projects in injury prevention, sports psychology and high performance.

On the occasion of the visit to this university, María Dolores García, accompanied by José Luis Mendoza García, General Director of Institutional Relations; Pablo Blesa, Vice-Rector of International Relations and Communication, and other UCAM executives, who took part in the ceremony to present diplomas to the Chinese students who have completed the joint specialised sports programme.

The agenda also included the inauguration of Yinghe High School (Galaxy), with which UCAM has signed an agreement.

Long-standing collaboration

With these actions, UCAM reinforces its presence in Asia and consolidates its role as an academic and cultural bridge between Spain and China. This smooth relationship is also reflected in the growing number of Chinese students studying at the UCAM campuses in undergraduate, master's and doctoral programmes. There are also numerous initiatives for collaboration in the development of research projects (in the field of agriculture or health), the incorporation of world-class researchers, training, sports or cultural and social projects, such as the recent creation of the first International Chair in Asian Studies in Spain, which works on peace-building, conflict negotiation, violence management and resource and market administration.

NEXRUR Project

Moreover, in research, UCAM expands its international collaboration by participating in the new European project Next Generation Sustainable Business Models and Monitoring for Rural Resilience and Innovation (NEXRUR), an initiative that seeks to boost innovation and sustainability in rural communities in Europe and China. This research, which will last four years, involves 30 partners (21 European and 9 Chinese), has a total budget of almost 6 million euros and is co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme. UCAM will contribute to the project with the development of a digital monitoring system that will allow the measurement of the social, environmental and economic sustainability of rural farms.

Meeting with the Shandong Government

The UCAM delegation was accompanied by the General Director of Universities of the Region of Murcia, Antonio Caballero. The visit to the province of Shandong, which has 120 million inhabitants, was of an institutional nature, with a reception hosted by the provincial government, led by its Vice-President, Sun Jiye, strengthening the ties of cooperation initiated in previous visits to Murcia. Years ago, the regional governments of Murcia and Shandong strengthened their relations through UCAM, with a reception by Fernando López Miras, president of the Regional Government of Murcia, at the Palacio de San Esteban.

With this meeting, the support of the Chinese authorities for the educational and sporting project that UCAM is developing in collaboration with academic institutions and companies in the Asian country was underlined.