Chinese university prepares int'l campus with US partner

HANGZHOU - China's Zhejiang University has begun admissions for its international campus, jointly managed with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

With teaching scheduled to begin in September, 30 percent of students will come from overseas, said Wu Zhaohui, principal of Zhejiang University on Thursday at the inauguration of the campus in Haining City, Zhejiang.

The school will focus on mechanical engineering and automation, with its curricula fully compatible with those at UIUC. Degrees will be conferred by both universities.

Philip Krein, professor of electric engineering and computing from UIUC, is executive president.

Around 150 students will be enrolled this year. One third of the faculty will originate in UIUC, another third from Zhejiang University and the rest contracted.

International campuses have expanded in China to cater for a growing demand for global education. The first Sino-U.S. university -- Shanghai New York University (NYU Shanghai)-- opened in 2012, and is jointly run by New York University and East China Normal University.

New York's Juilliard School, a performing arts conservatory, plans to offer graduate courses in music in the northern Chinese municipality of Tianjin in conjunction with Tianjin Conservatory of Music and Tianjin Innovative Finance Investment Co. Ltd.