UPF and the East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL) in Shanghai have signed a student exchange agreement aimed at promoting academic collaboration between the two institutions and facilitating the participants' training, cultural orientation and mobility.

The agreement was signed in the Rector's office this morning by Jaume Casals, rector of UPF, and He Qinhui, president of the ECUPL. Others attending from the UPF included the lecturers from the Department of Law Pablo Pareja and Josep Capdeferro, and from the Chinese institution, Yu Suqing, Xia Fei and Gano Han, the ECUPL's dean, the director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Center, and the director of the Business School, respectively.

According to the agreement signed, which is valid for five years (which can be extended), three UPF students can register at ECUPL for one semester each academic year, and conversely, three students from the Chinese university can join UPF. After three years, an equal number of students from the two institutions must benefit from this exchange.

The exchange will initially be aimed at advanced students on the bachelor's degree programme in Law and the master's degree programme in Chinese Studies at UPF, but it is expected to be subsequently extended to other disciplines in the social sciences field at the University.

The participants, who must meet all the admission requirements, will be selected by the institution based on their academic merit and suitability, as well as their linguistic proficiency in English, or in Chinese or Spanish respectively. The catalogue of subjects in English is the basis for this exchange, which provides academic recognition for mobility and guarantees that the students selected will be exempt from registration fees at the host university.

A prestigious law school in eastern China

The East China University of Political Science and Law, which was founded in 1952, is located in Shanghai, the economic centre of the People's Republic of China. It is the most important and prestigious law school in the east of the country, but it also offers programmes in economics, foreign languages and management as well as this specialization.

The ECUPL has more than 12,000 students and a highly qualified staff in both teaching and research, and it is the only law school in the region offering a doctorate in this field. Since China has implemented its open-door and reform policy, the ECUPL has specialized in cultivating international academic exchanges with colleges and universities around the world, which now include UPF.