In order to further advance internationalization of education and deepen cooperative exchanges with world-class universities, on April 21, a delegation including Federica Pazzaglia, Director of Smurfit Business School, Associate Dean of the UCD College of Business, and Gavin Chaw, Director of East Asia Global Centre, visited the School of Management, Shandong University for an in-depth meeting about Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools. Present at the meeting were Xu Xifeng, Director of Department of International Affairs, Shandong University, and Bu Naipeng, Deputy Director, and Ding Ronggui, Dean of School of Management, along with Vice Deans Tang Guiyao and Huang Xiaoting. The meeting was hosted by Wang Jing, Director of International Cooperation and Accreditation Center of the School of Management.
In the welcome speech, Ding Ronggui extended a warm welcome to the delegation from University College Dublin and expressed his expectations for both sides to deepen practical cooperation and broaden the scope of exchanges based on this meeting. Tang Guiyao introduced the historical evolution, discipline construction, international accreditation and educational characteristics of the School of Management. Federica Pazzaglia introduced the international reputation and disciplinary strength of University College Dublin and Smurfit Business School, and conveyed the willingness to deepen cooperation and jointly establish high-quality Sino-foreign cooperative education programs.
Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on the cooperative education programs. Ding Ronggui, Xin Jie, Director of Department of Strategic Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Yu Du, Associate Professor of Department of Corporate Finance, introduced the positioning, curriculum system, training model and implementation ideas of their respective programs. The participants had in-depth exchanges and reached consensus on key issues such as curriculum alignment, faculty allocation, and quality assurance. In the afternoon, the participants fully discussed the cooperation model, specific division of labor, and implementation plan of the project, clarified the subsequent work schedule and task list, laying a solid foundation for the early implementation and standardized operation of the project. The delegation also visited the Shandong University History Museum, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the university’s century-old history, cultural heritage and development achievements.
The meeting was efficient and practical, further consolidating the foundation for cooperation, broadening international exchange channels, and playing an important role in promoting the college’s internationalization level and cultivating high-quality management talents with global vision. Both sides will continue to deepen the connotation of cooperation, refine cooperation measures, and jointly build a model of Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools to support the high-quality development of the college. Wang Lei, Director of the Department of Project Management and Industrial Engineering, and relevant faculty representatives attended the meeting.
University College Dublin is ranked 118th in the 2026 QS World University Rankings, maintaining a steady upward trend. Its business education system is particularly outstanding. The Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School enjoys a high reputation in Europe and globally. Many of its master’s programs are among the top in the world, demonstrating excellent teaching quality and graduates’ employment competitiveness.
