Speech for Professor Paddy Nixon
Opening Ceremony of Ulster College at SUST
3rd September 2019
President Professor Ma, Senior Leaders, Colleagues, Students and Parents,
Good Morning.
I would first like to thank Professor Ma for the kind invitation to have my colleagues from Ulster University and I here today to attend the Opening Ceremony of Ulster College at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology.
I am very pleased to see that our Joint College is officially established today, and we have 300 students as the first intake here. It has been a long journey since the first visit in 2013.
This partnership has been strengthened through the years with joint research projects, student and staff exchanges and articulation programmes. The partnership continues to grow and benefit both universities along with the staff and students. Colleagues at both universities have been working extremely hard to make the establishment of the Joint College happen. I sincerely appreciate that this is not an easy journey, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone here for your contribution, and I believe this remarkable achievement we have today is the beginning of the success of Ulster College at SUST.
Shaanxi University of Science and Technology has a strong history of leading the way in higher education in China, such as being the first institution of higher education to support the growing light industry. Ulster University are very honoured to be a strategic partner of SUST.
I’m also proud that Ulster is ranked in the top 2% of world universities with a history spanning over 170 years. Ulster University is a dynamic and innovative university with a spirit that transforms lives, stretches minds, develops skills and raises ambitions.We are consistently regarded as one of the most outward-looking institutions in the world, and has earned an international reputation for research excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship.
As a multi-campus institution with four campuses across Northern Ireland and a total student population of over 26,000, we can offer both a city and ruraland we are located in some of the most beautiful countryside and coastline in Northern Ireland.
We enjoy a diverse university community and warmly welcome international students from over 100 countries worldwide and have over 195,000 alumni in 154 countries.Since 2012, we have been home to the Confucius Institute in Northern Ireland,winning the accolade of Confucius Institute of the Year in 2016. Over, 21,000 students in Northern Ireland are now studying Chinese through the Institute.We are also very proud of our academic excellence, particularly the courses provided at Ulster College at SUST.
· For example:12thin UK for Engineering, The Guardian, 2020
· 19thin UK for Mechanical Engineering, The Guardian, 2020
· >90% of computing research environment rated world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2014)
· The top UK materials research institute (REF 2014)
· In the top 20 UK universities to have the impact of its research in engineering ranked world- or internationally-leading (REF 2014)
Students from the Joint College will be able to come to the United Kingdom and spend either one or two years studying at Ulster University in our Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. Studying part of your degree at Ulster will enable you to experience an alternative culture as well as disseminating Chinese culture to our home students. This experience is particularly important in our modern world in which it is now possible for commercial projects to be worked upon 24 hours a day as teams of staff take over in various countries as our globe rotates. Our courses also have a focus on practical skills and are also informed by research, employer feedback as well as professional bodies standards. All of this ensures you graduate with the skills aligned to industry needs. Hence, coming to Ulster will significantly enhance your employment prospects as well as having an extremely enjoyable time!
You will also be taught by staff working at the forefront of their field. For example, the current Head of School in the School of Engineering is Professor Jim McLaughlin. Professor McLaughlin is the Director of Ulster University's Nanotechnology and Integrated-Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC) as well as Director of the Engineering Research Institute (ERI). A Fellow of the Institute of Physics and the Irish Academy of Engineering, he was awarded an OBE for his services to Research and Economic-Development. He is a Senior Distinguished-Fellow and his world-leading Connected-Health research addressesnanotechnology and its application in areas such as point-of-care-sensors and medical-diagnostics. Professor McLaughlin has attracted over £50m of funding to establish research that has led to the establishment of NIBEC, CHIC, NICAM, NanotecNI, ECME, Biodevices Lab and BEST and is a co-founder of various companies including the wireless-patient-monitoring company Intelesens. He also led the successful Xprize Tricorder Zensor team to overall 3rd position and has developed a wide range of industrial and international academic collaborations.
Similarly, Professor Chris Nugent, Head of School in the School of Computing leads the Pervasive Computing Research Group. Professor Nugent has held a visiting Professorship at Halmstad University (Sweden) and the University of Florence (Italy) and is currently a visiting professor at Lulea Technical University (Sweden). In 2016 he was awarded a Senior Distinguished Research Fellowship by Ulster University.
His research within biomedical engineering addresses the themes of the development and evaluation of technologies to support pervasive healthcare within smart environments. He has published over 450 papers in these areas and currently has an h-index of 39. To date he has successfully supervised 33 PhD students to completion.
He has been instrumental in initiating, preparing, supporting and managing a number of externally funded Research Projects which collectively have been granted funding in excess of £26 million from sources such as EPSRC, ESRC and the European Union. He currently serves as the Program Chair for the Technology Professional Interest Area of the Alzheimer’s Association (US) and has provided keynote presentations at prestigious International Conferences discussing the role of technology aids for dementia.
Should you decide to study part of your degree at Ulster, you will be studying in our brand new facilities located on our Belfast campus which are due to open in September 2021.Northern Ireland is renowned for its friendliness and warm welcome. Not only are we the happiest place in the UK (Office of National Statistics, 2017) but we are also one of the safest (British Crime Survey, 2014)
With an investment in excess of £250 million and a resultant regeneration multiplier impact of £1.5 billion, this once in a lifetime regeneration project will deliver a new campus in the heart of the City of Belfast. It will be a campus where vibrant social venues meet calming study environments and relaxed social learning spaces. Designed to promote a creative, innovative, transformative and vibrant environment that will stimulate and inspire, this new campus acts as a catalyst for change.
It will further drive a transformative approach to teaching- improving learning environments and encouraging collaborative learning. It will be paper light, technologically enabled and digitally connected: state of the art facilities to meet the needs of future students. In line with our role as a genuine Civic University, the campus also delivers social connections - connecting students, academics, businesses and local people both to each other and to an ever-increasing range of future opportunities. A campus that amplifies our academic and research excellence and further defines Ulster University as a first-choice destination for people of all backgrounds.
In the end, I’d like to invite all of the students to come to Ulster as facilitated by our Joint College. We are firmly committed to providing the best education as well as an outstanding student experience. Creating highly employable graduates and future leaders is at the very heart of our learning experience.
I am looking forwarding to working together with everyone here to shape the students’ future and the future of Ulster-SUST Joint College.
尊敬的马校长、校领导、同事、学生及家长们，早上好：
首先，感谢马校长盛情邀请我及阿尔斯特大学的同事们参加陕西科技大学阿尔斯特学院的开学典礼。非常高兴看到两校的合作办学机构在今天正式成立，并有300名新生加入其中。这不禁让我想到，自2013年的首次到访已去日良多。
回顾这些年，通过合作科研、师生交流和联合项目，两校间的合作变得更加紧密。我们的合作将持续深化并惠及更多师生。双方同事也都了促成合作办学机构付出了巨大的努力。申办的道路充满艰辛，在此我要真诚感谢在座每一位的付出，我也相信今日的成就会是阿尔斯特学院成功的开始。
陕西科技大学是一所办学历史悠久的前沿大学，是第一所以轻工业为特色的高等院校。能与这样一所大学成为合作伙伴，阿尔斯特大学深感荣幸。
阿尔斯特大学有着170余年的办学历史，位列世界高校排名前2%，是一所充满活力和创新精神的大学。学校秉持改变生活、拓展思维、发展技能、追寻理想的育人理念。阿尔斯特大学不仅长期以来被公认为世界上最开放的大学之一，也因卓越的研究、创新和创业精神赢得了良好的国际声誉。
阿尔斯特大学在北爱尔兰的市区和近郊有4个校区，2.6万余在校生，这些校区分布在美丽的城郊及沿海之滨。
我们多元的校园文化吸引了来自全球100多个国家的学生，19.5万多校友分布在154个国家。
北爱尔兰第一所孔子学院于2012年在我校建成，2016年该学院获得年度孔子学院的荣誉称号，北爱目前有超过2.1万学生该学院学习中文。
我们也为自己的学术成就感到骄傲，特别是陕西科技大学阿尔斯特学院开设的这些专业。
例如：
2020年《卫报》：工程类专业全英排名第12位，
2020年《卫报》机械工程专业全英排名第19位，
2014年《REF》①：超过90%的环境计算研究处于世界领先或国际先进水平
2014年《REF》：全英顶尖的材料研究单位
2014年《REF》：工程类专业具有世界领先水平的全英排名前20的高校
来自联合办学机构的学生可以在英国阿尔斯特大学计算机、工程和环境建筑学院进行为期1-2年的学习。在阿尔斯特大学完成部分学业将有助于学生体验多种文化并将中国文化传播给英国学生。这种体验在现代社会愈加重要，在一些商业项目中不同国家的团队有时需要轮班工作以实现24小时不停工。
我们的课程也注重培养实践技能，并遵循研究成果、业务反馈以及专业行业标准。所有这些都是为确保学生在毕业时能够具备行业所需技能。因此，到阿尔斯特大学学习能在享受愉快时光的同时获得更好的就业前景。
学生们将接受来自专业领域研究前沿教师的授课。例如，现任工程学院院长吉姆·迈克劳林教授，他是阿尔斯特大学纳米技术及综合生物工程中心（NIBEC）主任和工程研究所（ERI）所长。作为物理研究所和爱尔兰工程学院的研究员，他因卓著的研究成果和对经济发展做出的贡献被授予帝国官佐勋衔。他是一位资深的高级研究员，其领先世界的健康研究主要集中在纳米技术及其在临床传感器和医疗诊断等领域。吉姆·迈克劳林教授筹集了5000万英镑用于研究，并成立了NIBEC、CHIC、NICAM、NANOTECNI、ECME、生物设备实验室和BEST，这是由多所公司共同资助成立的，包括无线病人监测公司Intelesens。他所带领的XprizeTricorderZensor科研团队也成绩斐然，并在工业领域和国际学术方面建立了广泛合作。
还有领导普适计算研究团队的计算机学部主任Chris Nugent教授。他曾在哈尔姆施塔德大学（瑞典）和佛罗伦萨大学（意大利）担任客座教授，现在任卢利亚技术大学（瑞典）客座教授。2016年，他被阿尔斯特大学授予高等杰出研究奖。
他在生物医学工程领域的研究致力于开发和评估在智能环境中支持普适医疗的技术。他在这些领域共发表450多篇论文，h-index为39。截至目前，他已指导33名博士完成学业。
他在发起、准备、支持和管理一些外部资助的研究项目方面发挥了重要作用，这些项目从EPSRC、ESRC和欧盟等获得的资金总额超过2600万英镑。他目前担任美国阿尔茨海默症协会（Alzheimer's Association）专业技术主席，并在著名的国际会议上就技术辅助治疗阿尔茨海默症的作用进行了主题演讲。
我们的贝尔法斯特新校区将于2021年9月竣工，准备前往阿尔斯特大学完成部分学业的同学将有机会在这所崭新的校区进行学习。该校区总投资超过2.5亿英镑，由此产生的倍增效应可创造15亿英镑，绝对值得期待。
那里将是轻松的社交和学习区，满足活跃的社交活动和肃静学习的需求。充满活力的设计旨在激励学生去创造、创新和变革。
我们将进一步从改善学习环境和鼓励合作学习两方面来推动教学方法改革。校区将配备最先进的设施以满足未来学生的需要，实现简易化、科技感和数字化为一体。为符合真正公民大学的角色，我们将努力在学生、教师、企业和当地居民之间建立更好的联系。
最后，我想邀请所有受阿尔斯特学院影响而选择出国的学生前往阿尔斯特大学学习。我们将努力提供最好的教育资源、给予学生最优的学习生活体验，坚定不移的将提高毕业生就业率和培养未来领导者作为教育的核心。
我期待与在座各位携手，共同为学生创造美好未来，为阿尔斯特大学和陕西科技大学合作办学机构创造美好明天。
REF：全称Research Excellence Framework，是英国评估高校研究质量的体系。（翻译：刘心雨）
