The Science Bridge project, with a total of £2.3 million support from the Research Councils UK and Queen’s University Belfast, is a strategic alliance between Queen’s University and 14 leading Chinese universities and industrial partners.

Science Bridge is one of four projects funded by the Research Councils UK to build strategic links with China in 2009, to a total value of £5 million of support. The Chinese Ministry of Education has confirmed its support for the Science Bridge projects.

The aim of the Queen’s project is to accelerate the deployment of research knowledge, deepen and strengthen current research links and contribute to the wealth generation of both countries through technology-transfer activities in the field of sustainable energy and the built environment. Above all, the scheme offers students the direct opportunity to study for a PhD in one of the theme areas offered by Science Bridge.

Queen’s has committed to providing up to 39 Science Bridge Award bursaries for outstanding students from China to pursue their PhD study at the University. (The amount of each bursary for 2009-10 is the approved international tuition fees, up to a maximum of £11,539. The bursary is applicable for each of the three years of study.)

There are three Science Bridge teams at Queen’s:

• Centre for Built Environment and Research
• Intelligent Systems and Control
• Electric Power and Energy Systems.

During Queen’s University’s May 2009 visit to China, partnership agreements were formalised with a number of the 14 institutions in China:

• Zhejiang University, Hangzhou
• Shanghai University
• Shanghai Jiaotong University
• Tsinghua University, and
• Central Research Institute of Building and Construction.

Three of these universities are ranked in the top four in China.

Other Science Bridge project partners with Queen’s University are:

• Chongqing University
• Southeast University
• Hunan University
• Institute of Electrical Engineering of Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Research Institute of Highway, Ministry of Communication
• China State Railway Construction Company
• Baosight of Shanghai Baosteel Group Company
• SAIC, Shanghai Electric Group Company
• Zhong-tie Construction Group Corporation.