GrokChina is pleased to announce that, as of February 1, 2012, James Aldridge will be joining GrokChina, LLC as our new Executive Director for China. James will assume responsibility for all program office activities, projects and development work undertaken in China on behalf of our customers.
James comes to Grok with a deep grounding in the Chinese education market. Prior to joining us, he lead a profitable presence for CEC Network in China, and worked with EduGlobal as their Canada department managing director. James also has experience in student recruitment from the institutional perspective, having worked in recruitment with NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology). He brings to our customers a successful track record in student recruitment, promotion, agent management, and partnership development.
China’s booming online gaming market raked in 42.85 billion yuan ($6.79 billion) in 2011, a 32.4-percent year-on-year increase, said Sun Shoushan, deputy head of the General Administration of Press and Publication, at an annual symposium on digital gaming.
The mobile gaming industry also reported rapid growth in China, with revenues up 86.8 percent to 1.7 billion yuan in 2011, said Sun.
Source: China Daily
URL:http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-01/10/content_14415742.htm
Editor’s Note: With the world’s largest online population, China’s online gaming industry is flourishing with the popularity of internet, PC and smart phones in recent years. Beyond the domestic market, Chinese gaming companies are making headroads in internationalization and export. For example, in 2011, a company in Suzhou, Jiangsu province call Snail Game signed a US $80 million export contract with Russia. Demand for creative minds, talented designers and technical people in this industry continues to be high.
The Chinese government announced at the end of 2011 that the nation will continue offering value-added tax (VAT) refunds to the animation industry in 2012 in its efforts to boost cultural development.
Source: China Daily
URL: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-01/09/content_14406748.htm
Editor’s Note: China produced 385 animated films in 2010, a 28 percent year-on-year increase under the country’s supportive policies. The industry also earned more than 500 million yuan ($79 million) from exports in 2010, a rise of 60 percent year-on-year. It is promising that in the coming year, investment will increase in the cartoon and animation industry. Overall though, the state of the domestic animation industry is not yet considered to meet international standards and skill development is a priority. Foreign institutions which have strength in related disciplines may find opportunities in student recruitment, and partnerships with Chinese schools. Holding an animation competition among potential partner schools is also a good way to build the brand of your program in China and build partnerships.
In a bid to limit overcapacity and improve the strength of domestic automakers, regulators will no longer encourage foreign investment in vehicle manufacturing in China. Jointly formulated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – the country’s top economy planner – and the Ministry of Commerce, the latest policy guidelines for foreign investors will take effect on Jan 30.
Vehicle manufacturing will be removed from the “encouraged” category of industries that welcome foreign investment.
Source: China Daily
URL: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-01/09/content_14407526.htm
Editor’s Note: The change is regarded as a signal that China will raise the threshold on approvals of new Sino-foreign joint ventures or expanded production by exiting partnerships in order to give more development space to domestic automakers. While this might impact foreign invested auto companies, there will be greater demand for engineering talent development within the domestic auto companies to promote local industry development. Foreign institutions strong in engineering and R&D technology in the auto industry can reach out to cooperate with local colleges or vocational schools for joint teaching programs or teaching resource exchange.
Australia’s public universities face an uncertain year in 2012 when, for the first time, the government will lift the quotas it sets on the number of undergraduate students each can enroll. How this ‘demand-driven’ policy will play out is uncertain but it seems likely that in this and coming years, some universities will face significant enrolment increases while others will see their numbers fall away to an alarming extent.
Source: University World News
URL: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120106163332207
Not only are more students than ever before travelling abroad to realise their higher education ambitions, they are also increasingly gravitating away from traditional educational hotspots and this trend looks set to continue, with competition for international students growing worldwide.
With China achieving the status of fourth top host country (after the US, UK and France) in 2010, countries that have pegged growth in their tertiary sectors on a sustained influx of Chinese students would be wise to rethink strategies and consider the impact of changing economic circumstances in China on the future of student flows.
Source: University World News
URL: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120106164011851
Jiangsu province will spend 490 million yuan ($78 million) on environmental protection, local authorities said on Jan.4.
The project will start in July with a construction period of five years, and it includes landform reshaping and hydrological improvements, which will help support the wetlands ecology and restore the biodiversity near the coastal area.
Source: China Daily
URL: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-01/04/content_14379908.htm
Editor’s Note: Environmental protection is still urgent in China for central and local governments. Issues related to air and water pollution are of growing concern to China’s population and drawing international criticism. According to the Seventh Annual Conference of Environmental Protection held in Dec, 2011, the Central Government of China will set a special fund of more than 10 billion Yuan in the “twelfth five year plan” period to advocate environmental protection nation wide. The total investment on environmental protection in the “Eleventh five year” period in China exceeded 2,100 billion Yuan. Western companies or research institutes with strength in environmental protection management or ecology restoration may find now a good time to reach out to Jiangsu Province to offer consultation and joint research projects.
The UC public higher-education system, rocked by budget cuts, is enrolling record numbers of out-of-state and international students, who pay almost twice as much as in-state residents.
Source: Chinadaily
URL: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2011-12/30/content_14356525.htm
China will further develop continuing education in a bid to strengthen the country’s human resources. Liu Yandong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting on continuing education. Liu called for further development of the continuing education system as the country is still facing the shortage of education resources.
She also urged the government to improve related policies in finance and taxation, in a bid to guarantee the sustainable development of the continuing education system.
Source: Xinhua.net
URL: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2011-12/24/c_131325085.htm
A group of 38 Chinese higher education administrators began a training program at the University of Houston, Texas. The month-long Higher Education Leadership Training program will offer the Chinese higher education administrators programs ranging from utilization of new technology in university administration, university financial management, U.S. community college systems, and international student learning experiences to human resources management and student recruitment.
Source: Xinhua.net
URL: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/culture/2011-12/08/c_122391648.htm
