Wellington Institute of Zhengzhou University
View gallery
The Wellington Institute of Zhengzhou University (WI-ZZU) is a Joint Educational Institute, and is the core element of the partnership between Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Zhengzhou University.
Together, the universities offer undergraduate degrees in architecture, landscape architecture, and industrial design, with the aim of delivering a major advancement in transnational education for both institutions. This partnership opens up valuable cross-cultural exchanges and mutually beneficial opportunities in teaching, research and educational development. This includes collaboration at Master's and PhD level.
Students enrolling at the Wellington Institute of Zhengzhou University benefit from being taught in English for the whole of their three-year VUW Bachelor's degree. They graduate with a degree from each institution. First-year students are taught by Zhengzhou University academic staff, then in years 2 to 4, the students are taught by staff in China from a combination of the two institutions.
Zhengzhou University, the only double first-class university in Henan Province, is highly-regarded and has a student population of over 70,000, making it the largest university in China. In addition to teaching and educational practice development, the partnership offers significant opportunities for joint research funding applications and beneficial industry collaboration.
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has a reputation for academic excellence and strong industry connections. Students have ample opportunity to learn from the national decision makers, top creative talents, technology trailblazers and leading researchers. The Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation is a leading provider of innovative education in design and the built environment. Our graduates use their ground-breaking research in real-life applications, such as the X-Frame, created by Architecture PhD student Ged Finch, and Wētā Workshop’s 3D printed eyes, developed by Industrial Design Master’s student Tor Robinson.
While the Wellington Institute student teaching is predominantly in China, plans are in place for both short and long student study visits by students at Zhengzhou to Te Herenga Waka. Equally, staff reciprocal visits have already begun with a staff member from the Industrial Design School at Zhengzhou spending three months at Te Herenga Waka to share knowledge and ideas on contemporary teaching approaches in the two countries.