A new center of the Manchester Business School in Shanghai will create opportunities for Chinese students who are seeking cross-cultural education, experts said at the opening ceremony.

The new office, opened on Nov 12, covers more than 1,000 square meters, four times larger than the previous.

Located in the city's CBD area, it has first-class teaching facilities, such as audio-visual systems and free Internet services.

The new center was carefully designed to combine Western and Eastern styles with the overall style of Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom, said Sherry Fu, regional director of the school and founding director of the MBS China Center.

"MBS China Center is committed to continuously making a contribution to society and the development of regional education."

Participants in the opening ceremony also include Keith Brown, a professor and vice-president of the University of Manchester; Fiona Devine, dean of Manchester business school; Nigel Banister, chief global officer of Manchester Business School, and Matt Burney, area director of the British Council.

Representatives from MBS partner institutions Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tongji University also attend the ceremony, together with senior executives from major multinational companies worldwide.

One highlight of the ceremony is a short film made to introduce the history of the MBS China Center.

It showed the five-year development of the center from a "cube" to a well-equipped mature one.

Another one is the opening of the traditional virtual Chinese doors by Brown, Devine, Banister and Fu.

Banister said he appreciates all the efforts the participants made for supporting MBS.

"We aim to develop the China center as one of our key strategies to promote the school's internationalization."

Meanwhile, Brown congratulated everyone associated with the MBS China Center for all their achievements in the past few years.

In 2008, MBS decided to open a center in Shanghai to meet the surging demand in the Chinese market. "Today, China has become a vital economic power around the globe, and Shanghai is a key global financial center."

Burney said the MBS's example is a role model for the British education overseas. He said he is willing to see more Sino-UK education projects and cultural cooperation in the future.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/02/2013 page20)