UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND'S ROBERT H. SMITH
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH CHINACAST
Agreement to Bring Business Education
to
Mainland China Beyond Tier-1 Cities
Singapore & College Park Md.,
November 30, 2004 The University
of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of
Business and ChinaCast Communication
Holdings Limited ("ChinaCast"), a
leading provider of e-learning solutions
in China, today announced that they have
signed a memorandum of understanding
("MOU") to deliver education courses and
programs to students in the People's
Republic of China. ChinaCast continues
to expand its lead position in the
e-learning business in China and has
already helped more than a dozen Chinese
universities build nationwide e-learning
networks.
Until now, a world-class business
education has not been available to
students outside of China's Tier 1
cities, said Mr. Ron Chan, CEO of
ChinaCast. Through this partnership,
however, ChinaCast will help bring the
Smith School's courses and programs to
students throughout China. The
University of Maryland's Smith School is
one of the finest business schools in
the world and we are confident that
Chinas students will greatly benefit
from its quality courses and programs.
This agreement represents an
exciting marriage of communications
technology and world-class educational
content, added Howard Frank, dean of
the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
As the leader in providing
satellite-based broadband services in
China, ChinaCast has the logistical
means, the technical know-how, and the
geographic reach to assist the Smith
School in bringing our world-class
programs to a broad audience in China
beyond that of our existing EMBA
programs in Beijing and Shanghai.
The Robert H. Smith School of
Business is one of the world's top
ranked business schools with a
world-class faculty and extensive
experience delivering high quality
business education in China. The degree
and non-degree business courses offered
by the Smith School through the
ChinaCast partnership will be made
available to the public via open
enrollment programs, and to employees or
members of sponsoring organizations via
sponsored programs.
ChinaCast and the Smith School intend
to offer a general management course
("Advanced Management Certificate" or
"AMC") and a bank management course
("Advanced Bank Management Certificate"
or "ABMC") in the initial phase of this
strategic partnership. Other programs in
the pipeline include courses in
education management,
healthcare/hospital management,
insurance management, and hospitality
management. These will also be offered
by way of both open enrollment programs
and sponsored programs. Courses will be
delivered by satellite and held at
university campuses and educational
facilities throughout China. Based on a
market study done by Sinotrust
Consulting, the size of the corporate
e-learning market in China is expected
to reach $600 million by the end of
2004.
In addition to providing turnkey
e-learning systems and services via its
nationwide broadband satellite network,
ChinaCast will provide the remote
campuses, marketing and sales
activities, and call center services to
assist the Smith School in administering
its relationship with Chinese students
and organizations offering sponsored
programs.
Financial Impact
The contract is not expected to
contribute significantly to ChinaCast's
earnings in the financial year ending
December 31, 2004. None of the directors
of the company has any interest, direct
or indirect, in the University of
Maryland, the Smith School, or the
aforesaid MOU.
About ChinaCast
Established in 1999 and headquartered in
Beijing, ChinaCast provides
satellite-based broadband Internet
solutions to educational institutions,
government agencies, enterprises and
multinational companies throughout China
and is today one of the leading
privately held satellite-based services
group in China.
ChinaCast offers its Education and
Training solutions to universities and
primary and middle schools (K-12). These
services include broadband satellite
network services, interactive distance
learning applications, multimedia
education content, educational portals,
as well as IT certification and
management training courses.
ChinaCast's Enterprise Networking
solutions are targeted at large
corporations, government agencies and
multinational companies that require
data, video and voice communications
between their head office and branch
offices throughout China. ChinaCast
offers cost-effective and reliable
network services on a full turnkey basis
including network design, systems
integration, network management and
maintenance.
About the University of Maryland's
Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business
is an internationally recognized leader
in management education and research for
the digital economy. One of 13 colleges
and schools at the University of
Maryland, College Park, the Smith School
offers undergraduate, full-time and
part-time MBA, Executive MBA, PhD, and
executive education programs, as well as
outreach services to the corporate
community. In addition to its programs
in North America and Europe, the Smith
School provides custom MBA and open
enrollment programs in China, with
Executive MBA programs offered in
Beijing and Shanghai. More information
about the Robert H. Smith School of
Business can be found at
www.rhsmith.umd.edu.
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For more information:
Jeff Heebner
Robert H. Smith School of
Business
University of Maryland
(
301.405.9469
jheebner@rhsmith.umd.edu
|
