Dean of UCL Arts & Humanities joins UCL delegation to China

The UCL delegation visited three cities across China (Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen) between 6-13 May 2025 to engage with offer holders on track to join UCL in September 2025, as well as alumni.

Alongside Professor Stella Bruzzi, the delegation included Kirsty Walker, Vice President External Engagement, Professor Ivan Parkin, Dean of UCL Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Professor John O’Regan, Vice-Dean International of the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) and colleagues from Student Recruitment. Colleagues from the Office of the Vice President Advancement also joined us for the second and largest alumni event in Shenzhen.

Professor Bruzzi enjoyed meeting with offer holders for UCL Arts & Humanities and other UCL faculties. Our offer holders were especially keen to ask about life at UCL and what it’s like studying in London. They were also eager to learn more about our interdisciplinary degrees.

Each event was hosted by Katja Lamping, Director of Student Recruitment and included an address from Kirsty Walker followed by a brief Q&A with the panellists. Attendees were delighted to receive a video message from President and Provost Michael Spence in Chinese, and very much enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with academics and other expert colleagues present.

At the Shenzhen event, current UCL student Francis Deng was able to join the festivities. Francis is a first-year student on the Politics, Sociology and East European Studies BA in the UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies within the faculty. Offer holders were able to ask him questions about life in London and his personal experience studying at UCL as a Chinese student. Francis’s blog on this topic is available in both English and Chinese.

The Shenzhen Alumni Reception marked the first visit by a UCL delegation to the city. Over 230 alumni from the Shenzhen area attended the event, where they had the opportunity to connect with the UCL delegation and fellow graduates. The event featured speeches on recent developments at UCL, inspiring alumni success stories, and the UCL200 initiative.

Thank you to all the offer holders and alumni who attended these events and connected with UCL staff. We hope it was valuable and look forward to seeing you at UCL soon.