Summary

Earlier in April 2018, Chinese media reported that the Ministry of Education had officially approved the establishment of Westlake University, a private research university in Hangzhou. This university represents a significant change in China's private higher education sector as it is a research-oriented institution aiming at world-class status, as opposed to the bulk of current private HEIs which are generally seen as less prestigious and lower quality than the country's public universities.

The core of the new university is the current Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, a private non-profit research institute focusing on biology, basic medical sciences, natural sciences and advanced technology. Westlake University's founding staff include a number of high-profile academics, including a former vice-president of Tsinghua University as well as professors from other top Chinese institutions such as Peking University, and the institution aims to recruit top global academics to its faculty.

The new university is a non-profit institution with funding from major Chinese companies including Wanda and Tencent, as well as a grant from the Zhejiang provincial government. It will also receive support from research funding bodies and the Thousand Talents Plan, which is a government scheme providing incentives for top overseas academics to work in China. In contrast to the path taken by most private universities, Westlake will initially only enrol doctoral candidates before expanding to undergraduate education.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, SIEM East Asia

In addition to being a high-profile Chinese institution with potential for research cooperation, Westlake University also represents an important change in China's private higher education sector. Although a significant proportion of China's current universities are private, these are generally teaching-focused institutions that attract students who are unable to earn a place in more competitive public universities. No Chinese private universities appear in world university rankings or in the upper reaches of domestic university ranking lists. Sino-foreign joint universities such as Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University or Nottingham University Ningbo are also technically classed as private universities, but occupy a different space in China's HE ecosystem compared to private domestic institutions.

As a private institution, the new university will have a higher level of flexibility compared to publicly run counterparts, which could mean that it has more opportunities to cooperate with partners in the UK and other overseas countries. It is likely that Westlake University will be closely watched by Chinese education authorities, and if it is successful there will likely be more support for private research universities in the future.

Another private education institution located in Hangzhou is Hupan University, established by Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Hupan recruits a small number of students each year to a three-year course focused on business and entrepreneurship, with strict entry criteria - the institution only accepts students who have founded their own company and achieved revenue of at least 30 million RMB (£3.4 Mn). However, Hupan University does not award degrees and is not officially recognised as a university by the Ministry of Education.

Sources

1. Xinhua: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-04/02/c_137082985.htm

2. Westlake University: http://www.wias.org.cn/english-xh.html

3. China Daily (2017, regarding plans to establish the university): http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201712/09/WS5a2b1d14a310eefe3e99efc3.html

4. Caixin (2016, regarding the Westlake Institute for Advanced Study): https://www.caixinglobal.com/2016-12-13/101026600.html