China and Australia are deepening their academic ties further with the planned establishment of a new cross-cultural research center initiated by two universities in the two countries.
The University of Tasmania and the Yunnan Normal University signed on Tuesday an agreement on the setting up the Sino-Australia Cross Cultural Research Center, which is geared toward the creation of exchange opportunities and the provision of scholarships to students of the two countries.
The agreement allows the extension of five PhD scholarships, each amounting to almost $22,000, by the University of Tasmania for four years.
The Yunnan Normal University, meanwhile, will be issuing almost $800,000 for research, fellowships and students exchange programs.
The center will have two branches, one in Asia Institute Tasmania and the other in Kunming.
"The Sino-Australia Cross Cultural Research Center will continue to support and strengthen our teaching and research partnerships with China," said Professor Peter Rathjen, vice chancellor of the Univeristy of Tasmania.
"The center wil provide an opportunity to develop collaborative research and academic exchange, further supporting cooperation between China and Australia by conducting long-term join cross-cultural studies," he continued.
In addition to the academic assistance to be given by the two universities, the Australian Education Management group will also provide 10 scholarships annually to students enrolling in a master of education or languages degree in preparation for internship programs in China.