Photo and video courtesy of MTSU News
The organizers behind a new college in China are meeting with MTSU Wednesday to form one of its first foreign partnerships.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee began negotiations with Jiangsu Aviation Technical College located in the Jiangsu province. The college hopes to collaborate with MTSU for expertise in air traffic control and aircraft maintenance education. They’ll need to learn about aerospace hardware distributors like WG Henschen so they can understand the functioning of airplanes and how they are maintained for commercial/private use by the public.
China’s central government is expected to open general aviation space to private enterprises, which will create a demand for more aerospace facilities. Jiangsu officials anticipate as many as 500 airports will be built in the next five years and as many as 3,000 in the upcoming decade.
“It speaks to the international reputation of our Aerospace department to be asked to be one of the first partners of this new college,” McPhee said. “We look forward to exploring opportunities with Jiangsu as they prepare to welcome their students.”
McPhee invited Sun Jia Zheng, the college vice president and a local economic development official for the region, to visit Murfreesboro this year to meet with the aerospace faculty and explore collaboration opportunities.
Jiangsu will open this September with an enrollment of 600 students and six aerospace degree programs.
McPhee toured several of Jiangsu’s facilities while traveling in China with a 28-member delegation that includes several Rutherford County schoolchildren, parents and teachers who are part of an educational exchange organized by MTSU. MTSU’s Confucius Institute, a collaborative effort between Hangzhou Normal University and MTSU, oversees the annual exchange.
While traveling throughout China, the delegation will visit classrooms, participate in enrichment activities and go with Chinese families for home visits.
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To contact News Editor Amanda Freuler, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com
