Coventry holds biggest ever international university event

Over 300 alumni and representatives from the Ministry of Education, British Council and leading academic and industry partners came together on Saturday in the prestigious Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing - where leaders of the Chinese government receive foreign dignitaries - to celebrate the success of Coventry University and to launch a range of new services for alumni as part of building a new global community under the banner "Are you IN?".

The vice-chancellor, Professor John Latham, outlined to guests and the press the new activities that will be delivered as part of rolling out the next phase of the University's China strategy. Additional staff will be recruited to the CU Group offices in Beijing and Hangzhou to work directly with alumni on their return to assist them with CV development and to support directly in securing work experience and permanent job opportunities.

The University will also be developing bespoke professional networking tools to aid its alumni in connecting with one another and to support networking alongside a series of events each year. Staff will also be recruited in China to develop more research partnerships and corporate links.

In order to support this activity the University has recently formally registered as a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise in China – one of only a few overseas universities to have achieved this - and has extended itssupport geographically, opening an office in Hong Kong to support the region and the south of the mainland.

The President of Guandong University of Foreign Studies said Coventry has worked in partnership with major local universities, and that its success was rooted in a deep commitment to the country and an understanding of how effectively to drive international engagement for the benefit of students, staff and stakeholders.

SUCCESSES

These operational developments follow on from an outstanding year of achievement for Coventry University. In the recent Complete University Guide 2016 - the first national ranking table issued since the Research Excellence Framework results - Coventry moved into the top 50, making the institution the best-performing modern university in all three major rankings.

The University also retained its Modern University of the Year title for 2015 in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide – the first time that any institution has received the award two years running - and in March it won an award from the Guardian for the work experience opportunities provided to international students.

In September the University received an Innovation in Internationalisation award from the European Association for International Education for its world-leading student mobility activity, following it up with its first ever Chinese award from the Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange.

Most recently, Coventry University received one of the most prestigious awards any organisation in the UK can win – the Queen's Award for Enterprise – in recognition of its international success over the past six years.

For further information, please contact Alex Roache, external press and media relations officer, Coventry University, on +44 (0)24 7765 5050 or email alex.roache@coventry.ac.uk.