Partnerships Specialist - East Asia

Job Description

The Partnerships Specialist East Asia will provide dedicated support to Khalifa Universitys strategic engagement with East Asian institutions across academia, industry, government, and innovation ecosystems. This role involves actively facilitating, nurturing, and expanding international partnerships, to advance KUs global presence, collaborative research capabilities, student exchange initiatives, and institutional alliances.

Partnership Coordination and Management:

• Liaison & Relationship Management: Serve as the primary contact for key academic, governmental, and industrial partners in East Asia (specifically focusing on China), ensuring documented regular engagement (e.g., quarterly review meetings, monthly updates) and maintaining a partner relationship management (PRM) system to track interactions and outcomes.
• Strategic Event Coordination: Successfully plan and execute strategic meetings, high-level visits, and partnership-focused events per year involving senior KU leadership and East Asian institutional counterparts, with success measured by stakeholder feedback and achievement of predefined objectives for each event.
• Communication & Project Execution: Maintain documented weekly/bi-weekly communication with partner institutions (universities, innovation centers, corporate partners) to ensure the successful execution of joint projects and initiatives within agreed-upon timelines and budgets.

Strategic Engagement and Relationship Building:

• Governmental Collaboration: Establish and maintain active collaborations with UAE Embassies in East Asia (particularly China) and East Asian diplomatic missions in the UAE, aiming to secure governmental support for KU initiatives, evidenced by joint communiques, co-hosted events, or resource-sharing agreements.
• New Partner Development: Identify and engage potential new partners in East Asia each quarter for collaborative research, innovation, executive training, and industry-aligned educational programs, converting an agreed percentage of these into active partnerships within an agreed timeframe.
• Joint Initiatives Facilitation: Support the establishment and management of new joint labs, innovation centers, or collaborative R&D projects annually, and facilitate regular (e.g., monthly) progress meetings and reporting between KU faculty/researchers and their East Asian counterparts for ongoing projects.

Student Mobility and Academic Exchange:

• Program Implementation: In coordination with KU&aposs relevant departments, increase student participation in exchange programs by an agreed percentage annually.
• Inbound Mobility: Facilitate research placements for exchange students from East Asia, and successfully coordinate academic/cultural exchange activities (e.g., winter youth camps) annually, achieving satisfaction from participants. Support targeted recruitment efforts to attract qualified students from East Asia annually.
• Outbound Mobility: Arrange and manage industrial internships, cooperative programs, cultural visits, or summer camps in East Asia for KU students, ensuring detailed pre-departure briefings and post-program evaluations.

Communication and Reporting:

• Reporting & Briefings: Prepare and submit comprehensive monthly progress reports and detailed briefings for KU senior management on East Asia partnership activities, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and upcoming opportunities.
• Outcome Evaluation: Develop, implement, and maintain a framework to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of active partnerships quarterly, ensuring alignment with KU&aposs strategic internationalization goals and reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as joint publications, research funding, and student/faculty exchange numbers.

Other Responsibilities:

• Effectively undertake and report on additional responsibilities and emerging strategic tasks as assigned by the VP for Global Partnerships and External Relations or KU senior leadership, demonstrating adaptability and proactive contributions to evolving university priorities, with feedback solicited biannually.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Masters degree from a recognized institution.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.
• Fluency in both English and Chinese (spoken and written) is essential.
• Demonstrated familiarity with both UAE and East Asian (particularly Chinese) cultural contexts.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across diverse cultural and institutional settings.
• Preference will be given to candidates with academic credentials from globally recognized or preeminent institutions of higher education.