China/Salford property PhD announced
A joint doctorate programme in the built environment has been launched between the University of Salford and the China Academy of Building Research, as part of the ongoing partnership between Greater Manchester and Beijing.
The university collaboration was facilitated by the Manchester China Forum, a business-led initiative aimed at increasing Greater Manchester's commercial connectivity with China.
The programme will see the University of Salford build upon its existing research capabilities in the fields of smart cities and building information modelling, big data and e-health, inclusive housing design, and low carbon retrofit.
The doctorate is to be promoted across China and will be available to postgraduates of building-related and engineering disciplines. Those studying for the PhD qualification will spend half of the course in Beijing and half in Salford.
There will initially be 20 PhD awards each year.
Rhys Whalley, executive director of Manchester China Forum, said: "Following the recent launch of Manchester's investment portfolio in Beijing, this is another significant milestone in our continued engagement with China.
"The partnership has particular relevance to on-going dialogue and collaboration between Manchester and China in the fields of smart cities and urban regeneration; bringing unprecedented access to data and knowledge from one of the world's leading academies in construction and engineering."
Professor Martin Hall, vice chancellor at University of Salford, said: "This partnership will complement the £800m Manchester Airport City project where Beijing Construction and Engineering Group is now a primary contractor. It is also an exciting opportunity for the University of Salford to develop further partnerships as over 50% of world construction is currently in China."