The University of Birmingham signed an agreement with the University of Science and Technology Beijing on Jan 18 to create two new education programs for Chinese students.

The new programs include the Master of Science program in thermal energy and power engineering and an undergraduate program in mechanical engineering.

"We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at USTB to develop education opportunities that benefit students in China and allow the University of Birmingham to make a contribution to Chinese society," says Sir David Eastwood, the vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham.

"As a global 'civic' university in the 21st century, our responsibilities include contributing to enriching the life of both our home city and the wider world."

Both programs are under the Center for Energy & Environment Research and Education, a joint research center established by both universities in 2015 that aims to drive new technologies and train the next generation of engineers.

Since its inception, the center has taken part in staff and student exchanges, joint grants applications and joint research publications, as well as the development of student degree programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

According to the University of Birmingham, the Chinese government last year granted funding to send eight PhD students each year from the USTB to work on projects in energy storage technologies and materials at the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage.

"We have achieved many successes since we first began our formal collaboration in 2015," says Zhang Xinxin, president of the University of Science and Technology Beijing.

"We have seen close academic exchanges between staff and joint research publications to help maintain a close relationship between both universities."

Founded in 1952, the University of Science and Technology Beijing has been gaining influence globally in recent years. It has established partnerships and collaborations with more than 80 renowned universities and research institutions, including the University of Oxford, Germany's RWTH Aachen University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States.

Speaking about the overseas links, Zhang says: "It brings us great joy to find new friends both at home and abroad, and even more so to work with them for our mutual benefit."

"It is for that reason we have been most proud to count the University of Birmingham as one of our closest partner universities, having built a strong friendship in such a short time."