On November 12th, 2025, a delegation led by Robert Ventresca, President of King's University College at Western University, and Dr. TIAN Renfang, Chair of the Department of Economics in the School of Management, Economics and Mathematics, visited the School. Prof. FAN Tijun, Dean of the School, Dr. PENG Zeyu, Director of the International Office, and PAN Xuejing, Deputy Director of the same office, attended the meeting.

FAN Tijun extended a warm welcome to the delegation. He emphasized that internationalization has always been a core development strategy of the School. By linking high-quality global educational resources, the School continuously injects momentum into talent cultivation. He noted that the existing cooperative program between the two sides have created a win-win situation and built a broader academic and career development platform for students from both countries. He expressed hope that the two sides will further expand cooperation areas and elevate the cooperation level on the basis of the existing sound partnership.

Robert Ventresca expressed sincere gratitude for the warm reception from ECUST. He highlighted two new distinctive programs launched by King's University College in recent years: Financial Economics and Analytics and Decision Science, and looked forward to further expanding cooperation with ECUST. He specifically mentioned that since the launch of the "2+2" undergraduate dual-degree program, two students from ECUST have studied at King's University College. With solid professional foundations and outstanding academic research capabilities, they have performed excellently in coursework and academic practices.

Subsequently, the two sides held in-depth discussions on deepening cooperation, covering topics such as research collaboration, discipline development, and short-term exchange programs.

After the meeting, the delegation led by President Robert Ventresca visited various teaching and research facilities of the School accompanied by ECUST representatives.

Background Information

Western University was founded in 1878 and ranked 151st in the 2026 QS World University Rankings. King's University College, one of its three undergraduate-focused university colleges, specializes in liberal arts, business, and social sciences. Degrees completed by students at King's University College are uniformly awarded by Western University.

ECUST Business School and King's University College at Western University have collaborated on the "2+2" undergraduate dual-degree program since 2018. Under this program, students study at ECUST for the first four semesters and at Western University (Canada) for the subsequent four semesters. Students who meet the graduation and degree application requirements of both universities will be awarded bachelor’s degrees by ECUST and Western University respectively.