On January 11, 2023, Temple University and the North China University of Science and Technology (NCUST) signed an agreement that allows for student and faculty exchanges between their law schools and for joint international research and study programs. This partnership, Temple’s first in China’s Hebei province, marks the strengthening of cooperation between Temple and local universities in northern China.
The Temple-NCUST agreement provides opportunities for NCUST students to study in Philadelphia for semester and year-long-degree FLLM programs, and also in Temple’s summer program in Rome to study international and European Union law.
NCUST Law School has two major areas of focus, general civil law and medical law. The NCUST medical law major is the oldest of its type in China and the only such professionally focused degree in Hebei province.
“We are thrilled and grateful to give our students and faculty access to NCUST Law School’s well-recognized strengths in medical law,” said John Smagula, Assistant Dean for Graduate & International Programs at Temple Law School. “We warmly welcome NCUST students to study abroad at Temple in our Master of Laws program and Rome Summer program to enrich the environment where we learn from each other.”
This partnership originated through the initiative of Dean Lu Yao of NCUST Law School. In addition to being an associate professor, postgraduate supervisor, lawyer, arbitrator, and Secretary General of Hebei Medical Law Research Institute, Dean Lu is also an alumna of Temple University. She obtained her LLM degree in 2011 and played a key role in launching this partnership.
“I have great affection for my alma mater, the Temple University Beasley School of Law,” said Lu Yao, “and this agreement will help advance international legal education exchange and communication. I hope that many of our students will be able to take advantage of the same broad curriculum, strong faculty expertise, and welcoming environment that Temple Law School provided me.”
The Medical Law Research Institute of Hebei Law Society and the North China University of Science and Technology of Hebei Intellectual Property Distance Education are affiliated with NCUST Law School.