Professor Sir Drummond Bone: 'XJTLU has grown beyond what I originally conceived'

Originally published on the University of Liverpool’s website as part of its 20 Stories series for XJTLU’s 20th anniversary.

Professor Sir Drummond Bone was Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool from 2002 to 2008 and played a key role in establishing XJTLU.

A living bridge

Liverpool has a strong Chinese tradition; one of the first Chinese communities in Europe was established here. There has been a long-standing interchange between Liverpool and China, and our joint enterprise with XJTLU builds on that foundation, bringing the two even closer.

Where it started

It began when colleagues suggested opening a university in China. I started working closely with colleagues, and Professor Wang in particular at XJTU, to explore this opportunity. In spring 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Education granted us a licence, and we recruited our first students later that same year.

Exceeding expectations

I always imagined XJTLU as a university in its own right – offering Chinese degrees while working very closely with Liverpool. Looking back, my ambitions have certainly been answered. It has grown beyond what I originally conceived. I thought it might take 30, 40, or even 50 years to reach the size of the University of Liverpool, yet it is already larger, and we are only in our 20th year. After my time in Liverpool, I worked at the University of Oxford and was very proud to work with graduate students from XJTLU. Confirming that the academic standards certainly met what I had imagined.