Sir Nigel Thrift, the university¡¯s vice-chancellor, said the move was part of Warwick¡¯s ¡°successful strategy to develop as a globally networked university¡±.

Warwick already has a strategic partnership with Australia¡¯s Monash University and is involved in the Center for Urban Science and Progress in New York.

The university said the move to establish a California campus near Sacramento followed a recommendation from its senate and approval by its council.

It will be developed in partnership with the University Development Trust, described as a non-profit organisation with ¡°a high-level mission focused on educating and informing the American public¡±.

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¡°The phased project will first develop teaching in a small number of postgraduate courses that would be offered in interim accommodation. As the project then develops, dedicated teaching facilities will be created and undergraduate students will be admitted across a range of subjects,¡± Warwick said in a press statement.

Warwick added that the ¡°opportunity has arisen through the generosity and vision of its donors and the University Development Trust¡±.

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The trust has been developing a plan to start a world-class university on 1,159 acres in Placer County, California that it received as a donation in December 2012, from donors listed as ¡°the Angelo K. and Sofia Tsakopoulos family, William and Claudia Cummings, the Wayne L. Prim family and more than 40 partners in the Placer 80 Partnership¡±.

Kirk Uhler, chairman of the Placer County Board of Supervisors, said: ¡°This is a momentous achievement for the Sacramento region. Having a university of Warwick¡¯s international renown, especially in the areas of business and research and development, is a huge step forward in meeting the needs of our current and future residents and businesses.¡±

Professor Thrift said the project was part of the drive to be a university ¡°that exists in many locations, does research in many locations, and produces globally aware students able to thrive wherever in the world they decide to study, research and work¡±.

The news comes as Heriot-Watt University also announced the official opening of its ?35 million campus in Malaysia, catering for 4,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, following on from its first overseas campus in Dubai.

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john.morgan@tesglobal.com