Imperial launches first International joint PhDs with universities in Singapore and Hong Kong

Building on existing international PhD programmes Imperial's first three joint PhDs are launched - News release

For immediate release
Monday 15 February 2010

The first PhD programmes to be supervised, assessed and awarded by Imperial College London jointly with other institutions will accept their first cohort of students in August 2010, it is announced today.

The new joint qualifications are offered in partnership with the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and the University of Hong Kong. They will give students the opportunity to split their time equally between London and Singapore or Hong Kong, encouraging international mobility and preparing leading early-career researchers for global careers.

To be accepted onto the programmes students will need to meet the requirements of both of the partner universities, and to be successful in their PhD they will need to meet the assessment criteria of both, including a joint viva at the end of the course. The four-year programmes with NUS and HKU are offered across all subjects at Imperial, while the NTU partnership focuses initially on the fields of bioengineering and chemical engineering, with the potential for opportunities in other subjects to follow in future years.

Professor Mary Ritter, Pro Rector, International Affairs at Imperial College London, says:

"Research students on these courses will be working towards a qualification recognised as being of the highest international quality, for which they have met the demands of not just one world-leading university, but two. They will also have the chance to become part of a network of leading researchers in two world centres of scientific excellence, launching them into a globe-spanning career."

As well as opening up opportunities for students, the joint PhDs will foster closer research links between Imperial and its partner universities by establishing relationships between research groups. Sir Keith O’Nions, Rector of Imperial College London, says:

"If we're really going to tackle major challenges like climate change, sustainable energy and global health, the world needs science to be outward looking and collaborative. It's great that we're giving talented graduate students the opportunity to gain a global perspective on their work, and even better that a side effect of that will be the development of closer relationships between leading science-based institutions."

These Joint programmes will open up new opportunities for postgraduate study at Imperial, which already include split awards offered with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and five leading Malaysian universities, including the Universiti Malaya and the Universiti Tecknologi Malaysia. Unlike the joint programmes, these qualifications are awarded by Imperial only, but they give students the chance to spend time working with research groups in two locations.

More information on the new joint PhDs are at:

Imperial-National University of Singapore

Imperial-Hong Kong University

Imperial-Nanyang Technological University

For further information contact:

John-Paul Jones
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: 020 7594 6704
Email: john-paul.jones@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

About Imperial College London

Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 14,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve health in the UK and globally, tackle climate change and develop clean and sustainable sources of energy.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk