General Introduction
The UCL Alumni Shanghai Club is a nonprofit organization, aiming at serving the UCL community in China, particularly that in and around the Yangzi Delta. We are the only one officially recognized UCL alumni club in Shanghai. Our official language is English.
The UCL Alumni Shanghai Club was Established in 2013, founded by Stella Lu and Sky Lin, sponsored by Professor Feng Qin. With the help of the UCL Alumni Shanghai Club Committee, we are now serving over 1000 alumnus in the community. The alumnus cover both Chinese and non-Chinese, from all ages and walks of life. Whilst the Club is primarily aimed at alumni, current students are welcome to join as student members, and those who have held teaching posts at UCL are also welcome.
The Club is actively holding various UCL alumni events in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Each year, we have an alumni annual party which provides an opportunity for the alumnus to catch up with each other. Besides, we are also holding large events/mixers/balls with other fellow alumni clubs in Shanghai, ranging from top UK universities to top Chinese universities and even top US universities. For details of the past events, please see the Past Events page. For information of the coming events, please subscribe to our official WeChat profile: UCL_Alumni_CN.
Our Club does not only keep a good relationship with the British Centre, but also works closely with the local governmental organisations severing overseas-returned alumni. In 2016, we officially registered our UCL Alumni Shanghai Club with the Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association (SORSA), which is led by the Chinese government, aiming at providing a high-profile social platform for all the overseas-returned scholars in Shanghai.
UCL Alumni Shanghai Club Committee:
History of the University
(source: UCL Website)
Just 175 years ago, the benefits of a university education in England were restricted to men who were members of the Church of England; UCL was founded to challenge that discrimination. UCL was the first university to be established in England after Oxford and Cambridge, providing a progressive alternative to those institutions’ social exclusivity, religious restrictions and academic constraints.
The university’s main building was designed by William Wilkins who went on to build the National Gallery.
Some Interesting Facts
The first university in England to admit students of any race, class or religion, and the first to welcome women on equal terms with men.
Students from outside London, and from overseas, present from the start.
A teaching programme was established in which religious beliefs would not constrain the dissemination of knowledge and exploration of ideas.
Academic disciplines introduced as required by the emerging industrial and commercial society; the first English university to offer the systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine.