Ara One Of Only Two New Zealand Institutions To Gain Chinese Joint Programme Approval

During the latest Chinese Ministry of Education round of approvals, Ara Institute of Canterbury was endorsed to jointly deliver a Bachelor of Nursing degree programme in partnership with Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (LNUTCM).

It is hoped that the first cohort of students will begin lectures in China in September this year. The University, founded in 1958, is the only tertiary institution in Liaoning Province to train professionals in the integration of Chinese traditional and Western medicines within the context of clinical practice, nursing and other health practice-related disciplines.

The two organizations will jointly offer a ‘3+2’ joint’ program during which students will study for their first three years at LNUTCM before completing their fourth and fifth years at Ara. Ara staff from the Department of Health Practice will also travel to LNUTCM to teach.

After five years of study, students will be awarded two Bachelor of Nursing degrees, one from both LNUTCM and Ara, resulting in an increase of international nursing talent with cross-cultural competencies and internationalisation experience. Beth Knowles, International Director of Ara, says: “The increasingly diverse community and aging population in New Zealand will benefit from this programme, as some of the future bi-cultural and bilingual nursing graduates will be expected to work in NZ post-study to fill the shortages of skilled registered nurses here.”

She adds “This joint education programme will also facilitate the recruitment of talented Chinese students to Ara.”

Tony Gray, Chief Executive of Ara, concludes that “The successful approval of the joint nursing programme will not only realise the collaboration in academic teaching and research between our two institutions but will also create wider opportunities for medical and health professionals from both Liaoning province and the Canterbury region.”

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