Chinese university for Hackney in 2012 legacy

Boris Johnson: Negotiating with the Chinese

5 April 2012

London Mayor Boris Johnson is in talks with some of China's leading universities to establish a new campus in the Olympic Park.

He wants the Chinese colleges to form a partnership with a leading London university such as the London School or Imperial College

The new college would focus on postgraduate business courses and research and it is hoped it would attract funding from the private sector. Other funding is expected to come from government while the mayor's advisers believe a London university may finance a move to the Park by selling off some of its existing properties. Games planners have earmarked a site just to the south of the planned Olympic media centre in Hackney Wick.

Other business schools such as Yale and Harvard in the US will also be encouraged to take a share, though no approach has been made yet.

Proposals to establish a campus in the middle of the next decade are being driven by Carphone Warehouse tycoon David Ross, the Mayor's Olympic legacy adviser.

Mr Ross has been critical of the lack of progress on a coherent "legacy masterplan" in the Olympic Park.

A source from the Mayor's office said: "We are looking to develop higher education facilities as part of an international collaboration with top Chinese universities.

"This is an indication of our legacy thinking. The talks are at an early stage but they are serious talks."

Further discussions on the project will be held with Beijing deputy mayor Zhang Mao when he visits London in two weeks and if a deal can be clinched it would be the most significant advance yet in securing the legacy of the Olympic Park.

Mr Zhang will also hope to drum up business for Chinese firms which worked on the Beijing Games.

Construction companies and experts in "Games overlay" - the highly specialised business of fitting out the venues - will be pitching for contracts in the run-up to the London Games.

The source added: "We are not asking for handouts from the Chinese. Their industries now have a lot of experience in delivering a Games and we may import some of this."

Mr Zhang held initial discussions about a role in the 2012 Games when Mr Johnson visited the Paralympics in Beijing last month. On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, Mr Johnson called on businesses and innovators from around the world to come up with "ground-breaking" ideas for the future of the east London site.

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