UCL has a series of ‘Partner Funds’, which are a number of funding streams supporting joint projects between UCL academics and those at UCL’s key global partner institutions. Prof. Fulong Wu, Prof. Fangzhu Zhang, and colleagues from UCL and the partner institutions successfully secured different funds for multiple times, including UCL–PKU (Peking University, China) Strategic Partner Funds and UCL–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Strategic Partner Funds.
UCL–PKU Strategic Partner Funds is one of the Partner Funds (details here). The initiative seeks to build on existing links and stimulate new ones between UCL and PKU. The initiatives are available for UCL staff to apply annually. The prioritised fields are different in different years, matching the key fields in research and policy making at the time. For example, the prioritised fields for the round of 2023/24 were Climate Change; Mental Health and Wellbeing; Intercultural Understanding; and proposals relating to one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This funding opportunity has been secured for three times, including:
- UCL-Peking University Strategic Partner Funds, 2023-2024
- UCL-Peking University Strategic Partner Funds, 2018-2019
- UCL-Peking University Strategic Partner Funds, 2016-2017
After securing the funding, CRPG conducted a series of events of significance to research and policy making. The most recent example has been the workshop held on 2–3 May 2024 at UCL with the title of ‘Towards a low-carbon city: environmental governance on climate change – A dialogue between the UK and China’. The workshop invited 10 speakers from UCL and PKU to share their cutting-edge research. The workshop attracted over 40 audience and fostered productive discussions. For more details about this workshop, please see https://chinaurban.org/uclpkumay2024/
UCL–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Strategic Partner Funds has similar funding requirements with UCL–PKU Strategic Partner Funds. Prof. Zhang, Dr. Will McDowall, Prof. Geng Yong, and colleagues from UCL and Shanghai Jiao Tong University successfully secured the round of 2022–23.