On the morning of 2 July, the School of Foreign Languages at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) hosted a symposium on bilateral cooperation and exchanges with the Faculty of Social Sciences, the University of Warwick, alongside the official signing ceremony for their joint 3+M Accelerated Bachelor-Master Dual Degree Programme. The event took place in Meeting Room 316 of the Yang Yongman Building. A delegation led by Professor Fiona Copland from Warwick’s School of Education, Learning and Communication visited the School. Representing SJTU were Shang Biwu, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages; Vice Deans Tao Qing and Jiang Yan; Wang Pin, Head of the English Department, and Tang Yili, Deputy Head; Jin Wenfeng, Head of the Japanese Department; Xue Yuan, Head of the German Department; together with faculty representatives Wang Shengyuan, Lü Qianxi and Nie Ercong. Vice Dean Tao Qing chaired the session.
Opening remarks were delivered by Dean Shang Biwu, who extended a warm welcome to Professor Copland and her team. He noted that SJTU and the University of Warwick have a long-standing history of two-way academic exchanges and mutual visits, laying a solid foundation for sustained collaboration. The newly signed 3+M dual degree programme marks the first formal, recurring dual-degree partnership between the two universities, covering all core undergraduate majors offered by the School of Foreign Languages.
Dean Shang highlighted the School’s standing as one of China’s top foreign language institutions. In the 2026 Shanghai Ranking Discipline Evaluation, its five disciplines all earned the highest A+ rating, placing the School third nationwide in overall performance. The University of Warwick, meanwhile, boasts world-renowned teaching and research strengths. Launched to coincide with SJTU’s 130th anniversary, this landmark alliance creates a streamlined pathway for the School’s high-achieving undergraduates to pursue postgraduate study at a top global university, and ushers in a new chapter of deep disciplinary cooperation in foreign languages between the two institutions.
Professor Fiona Copland praised the SJTU team for its seamless, efficient coordination throughout the programme’s development, before outlining the Faculty of Social Sciences’ distinctive academic strengths and disciplinary portfolio. She described this dual degree track as a flagship transnational education initiative designed by the Faculty to break down internal school boundaries and build enduring ties with Chinese higher education partners. Warwick places high strategic value on this collaboration and eagerly anticipates welcoming its first cohort of SJTU foreign languages students. The university will deliver a globally competitive academic ecosystem featuring immersive linguistic and cross-cultural learning experiences, equipping participants with comprehensive international employability and cross-cultural competence.
During the open discussion segment, attendees held in-depth exchanges on curriculum alignment and credit mobility, drawing on Warwick’s leading expertise in sociology, economics and related social sciences, as well as the unique disciplinary strengths of SJTU’s foreign languages school.
Dean Shang also laid out two forward-looking, innovative avenues to deepen bilateral collaboration in the years ahead. First, building on SJTU’s leading strengths in language sciences, the two sides plan to explore setting up a joint research centre dedicated to cutting-edge intersections of language and artificial intelligence. Second, responding to evolving national demands for high-quality basic English education in China, the partners will explore a collaborative Master’s in English Education, continuously broadening the scope of joint academic endeavours.
The signing of this 3+M Accelerated Bachelor-Master Dual Degree Programme further expands the landscape of Sino-UK higher education collaboration, and solidifies the School’s long-term framework for talent development partnerships with leading British universities.
