Information on Loughborough

Loughborough benefits from Chinese expertise in emergency management

Posted on 31/03/2009

Loughborough University Website

Loughborough benefits from Chinese expertise in emergency management

Experts from one of China’s leading universities have visited Loughborough University to present an emergency response system which was utilised at the Beijing Olympics.

The delegation from the Centre for Public Safety Research (CPSR) at Tsinghua University is looking to develop research collaborations in the UK and made Loughborough their first port of call.

With funding from the Chinese Government, the CPSR is developing a national emergency response platform system for China, which can be utilised for all aspects of emergency management, whether they are man-made or natural disasters. It can also be used for integrated risk analysis, hazard mitigation, and training.

Staff and students gathered at the University’s Business School to learn how the CPSR’s emergency information system was implemented in response to the Sichuan Earthquake and at venues during the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The visit to Loughborough was part of a long-term collaboration between the Business School and Tsinghua University. While on campus the delegation also visited the University’s Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), the Department of Computer Science, the Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute (ESRI), and the Loughborough-based Systems Engineering Innovation Centre (SEIC).

During their time in the UK, the delegates from the CPSR met with representatives from the Department of Communities and Local Government, as well as businesses and regional fire brigades.

John Arnold, Director of Research at the Business School, commented: “The visit from the CPSR is quite a coup for the University. There is enormous potential for some really exciting international research collaborations with a wide variety of departments across campus.”

Professor Hongyong Yuan from the CPSR said: “We want to develop research collaborations in the UK and in Europe, and Loughborough was our first choice university to visit to begin disseminating our work and building fruitful research collaborations.

“We already have an excellent working relationship with Dr Lili Yang from the Business School, and were delighted to meet a range of other Loughborough University departments to explore engineering and technological applications of our research.”