The Institute of Technology Carlow has received approval from the Chinese ministry of education to establish a joint institute in Henan, China, with a degree in brewing and distilling among its offerings.
Carlow International College of Technology will be situated in Zhengzhou in Henan province with an annual intake of 280 students and a total of 1,120 from September 2022. Initially, there will be three Bachelordegree programmes in brewing and distilling, sustainable farm management and agribusiness, and Software Development.
The international institute will run in partnership with Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy (HUAHE). While University College Dublin and the National University of Ireland Maynooth have received similar endorsements, this venture marks the first time the Chinese ministry of education has backed an Irish institute of technology, according to IT Carlow.
IT Carlow has been working in China since 1995, during which time more than 1,000 Chinese students have graduated from the institute across all of its faculties.
The agreement is the culmination of a three-year process involving site visits by senior academics to HUAHE and IT Carlow. The application process included meetings with a validation panel nominated by the Chinese ministry. Former Irish ambassador to China Eoin O’Leary also travelled to Zhengzhou on two occasions to accompany the IT Carlow team to meetings with the provincial ministry.
Talent training
Vice-president for Development and Research at IT Carlow, Declan Doyle, said the development was “hugely important” for the institute’s international relations.
“The co-operation and advice received from the Embassy of Ireland in China and from education in Ireland was critical to the success of this application,” said Mr Doyle.
The president of Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Shixi Luo, said the establishment of Carlow International College of Technology will bring about closer co-operation between the two institutes in the field of talent training and lead to further exchanges in science, technology and culture.
“This co-operation will bring a new level of cooperation in higher education between China and Ireland and inject new momentum for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries,” he said.
In a separate initiative, IT Carlow is collaborating with another Chinese education partner for its Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications and Design taught at its Wexford art campus. Some 200 students are enrolled in the course in northeast China. Approval for collaboration for a computing course is also pending from the National Accreditation Board in Ghana.
By the 2025-2026 academic year IT Carlow will have 2,000 students based overseas, making it the largest Irish provider of transnational education programmes.
