by Maria Driscoll

Holland College's participation in the recent Team Canada Trade Mission in China has been deemed "highly successful" by College officials. One of the more significant educational announcements made during the Trade Mission, saw Holland College officially sign agreements which will see the College open six locations in China. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to establish a seventh site at the Changzhou Institute of Technology.

These agreements establish a partnership between Holland College and six college's located in the People's Republic of China: Chengdu Electromechanical College and Neijiang Railway Mechanical College, Sichuan Province; Chongqing Polytechnical College, Chongqing City; Wuhan Railway Transportation College, Hubei Province; Zhenjiang College and East China Petroleum College, Jiangsu Province.

"Holland College's interest in developing an educational relationship with China began almost 11 years ago," commented Keith Dewar, Vice-President of Holland College. "Initially, funding for these efforts was provided by the Federal government's CIDA program. Through these initial programs, the College's efforts to develop a sustainable presence in China have come together."

In these agreements Holland College will offer its highly popular information technology program, Business Information Technology (BIT). The College has already designed and developed the curriculum for the program, the same that is used in Canada. Holland College will maintain control over the curriculum and monitor the quality of the program delivery. The Chinese College's will be responsible for facilities, equipment and delivery of the program. Instructors employed by the Chinese Colleges will come to Prince Edward Island for a part of their training and certification with the remainder being completed over the Web.

The College anticipates approximately 40 students per site in the first year of operation. However, with the number of students the country would like to see taking IT training, the number of Chinese graduates receiving Holland College diplomas is expected to increase significantly. After five years, the College envisions an enrollment of approximately 1000 students taking the BIT program in China.

"As far as we know this agreement is a first. There is no other college in Canada that we are aware of, that has established a series of relationships like we have," commented Dewar. "The benefits to the College now and in the future are significant."

The newly signed agreements allow the College to significantly increase the number of its graduates providing the College with more resources to subsidize its ongoing operations and to upgrade its curriculum and physical resources College-wide. In addition, the agreements create part-time employment for about eight Canadian instructors and learning managers per site plus additional employment for curriculum consultants, support staff and on-site inspectors and monitors who would work in both Canada and China. There is also a cultural component. Students and instructors will benefit by being exposed to China's culture and having the opportunity to work and study in collaboration with their Chinese partners.

"College instructors and staff have been traveling to China and Chinese officials have been coming to Prince Edward Island for 11 years, laying the foundation to make this 'dream' a reality. Having successfully implemented this model, the potential for establishing other Holland College locations in China and around the world become a strong possibility." stated Dewar. "Distance learning, web-based delivery of College programs and the creation of international alliances now position the College as a provider of training programs in the global marketplace."