ICMS – GZUC collaboration deepens with ICMS lecturers visiting China

International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) lecturers David Addison and Janene Wardrop recently travelled to remote Guiyang, China, to teach students as part of an exchange between ICMS and Guizhou University of Commerce (GZUC).

The engagement was initiated as an idea in 2017 after discussion between ICMS and the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), with an overarching emphasis being that education has the power to transform lives and improve the quality of people’s skills and knowledge.

This aligns with ICMS’ strategic objectives of global engagement and civic leadership, leading the higher education institution based in Australia to align with the goals of global connection and uplift in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province, by investing in education.

The plan and ultimate goal

Through these initial discussions and subsequent exchanges, a Sino-Foreign cooperative education consultancy project for Guizhou was approved, consisting of 17 foreign courses, with ICMS as the education provider and guest lecturers invited to teach at GZUC.

The intended outcome is for GZUC students to ultimately have the chance to pursue postgraduate degrees in Australia, funded by China’s national scholarships.

Progress made

There has now been four years of collaboration between ICMS and GZUC, and with government support a new campus has been established.

With ICMS’ involvement, the project has successfully enrolled 345 students in preparatory courses at GZUC involving eight foreign teachers and fourteen Chinese co-teachers who have successfully delivered foreign courses.

With the visit in October 2023 by ICMS Bachelor of Event Management lecturers Wardrop and Addison, the cooperative program between GZUC and ICMS was officially launched.

The pair spent two weeks teaching four courses to over 150 students at GZUC.

“We taught the students in International Events, Exhibition Services, Legal Issues in Event Management, Venue and Hospitality Operations to broaden their horizons and to encourage them to pursue studying event management,” Addison said.

“Our visit provided an excellent opportunity to interact with mostly regional students in the west of China… The outcomes we experienced can be seen as a great testament to the success of the programme.”

ICMS currently offers GZUC students credit for prior learning which enables articulation to the ICMS Bachelor of Event Management.

“They may, in future, consider a Master degree at ICMS, which also comes with the ICMS Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and the Study Abroad experience in Australia.”

Sino-Foreign Cooperation in Action

During the visit, at a formal meeting of Deans and Faculty at GZUC, the Vice-President of GZUC and Party Committee Member Mr Wen Daqiang spoke of the intention to encourage the collaboration and participation of visiting foreign lecturers such as Wardrop and Addison.

This would achieve furthering the aims of:

• Genuine collaboration between teachers from both institutions, working together for development;
• Both institutions to continue to strengthen management and refine services; and
• That collaborations such as that between ICMS and GZUC could encourage positive cultural exchange between the East and the West.

Mr Wen Daqiang concluded that the program’s successful operation hinges on the concerted efforts of faculty members and departmental staff from both China and Australia.

“With the dedication of both teachers and students, we aim to make this program a distinguished example of Sino-Foreign cooperation in convention and exhibition management,” he said.

“This, in turn, will contribute positively to economic and social development.”

* ICMS offers GZUC students credit for prior learning in order to articulate in the ICMS Bachelor of Event Management. For more information, click here.

To read David Addison’s blog about his and Janene Wardrop’s experience teaching in Guizhou, click here.