Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with RWTH Aachen University in Germany, a delegation from Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) led by YAO Faming, Vice President, visited colleges and universities in Germany and Belgium from June 6th to 9th to further develop its partnerships with top universities in Europe.

From June 6th to 7th, the delegation visited Technische Universität Clausthal (TU Clausthal), one of Germany’s leading technical universities, founded in 1775, with outstanding strengths in materials, energy, mechanics, computer science and other disciplines.

The delegation met with Prof. Christian Bohn, Vice President for Studies and Learning, Prof. Michael Z. Hou, Head of the China Competence Center, and Prof. Sven Hartmann, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics/Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering of TU Clausthal. At the Faculty of Mathematics/Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering, the delegation had in-depth discussions and reached an agreement on cooperation with Prof. Jörg Müller, Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Sven Hartmann and others of related disciplines.

At the Energy Research Centre of Lower Saxony (EFZN), Yao discussed with Prof. Thomas Hanschke, Representative of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture for university cooperation between Lower Saxony and China and the former president of TU Clausthal, on building a cooperation platform between SWJTU and the universities in Lower Saxony.

The delegation also paid a visit to the China Competence Center of TU Clausthal, and discussed with Prof. Michael Z. Hou, the Head of the Center, on the further development of the “China Week” activities, teacher training and other programs.

Discussions held between the delegation and Prof. Thomas Hanschke, Representative of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture for university cooperation between Lower Saxony and China

On the morning of June 9th, the delegation arrived at KU Leuven, the top-ranked university founded in 1425 in Belgium and ranking 42nd in the global ranking of Times Higher Education (THE). SWJTU has been collaborating with KU Leuven in “2+2” and “2+2+1” programs since 2007.

Yao and his delegation met with Prof. Gerard Govers, Vice President of KU Leuven, and reached a consensus on furthering cooperation in more disciplines and programmes. At the Faculty of Engineering Science, the delegation held talks with Prof. Wim Dewulf, Campus Chair of the Group-T Leuven Campus, Prof. Sabine Vercruysse, Vice-Campus Chair, Prof. Koen Eneman, Vice Dean for international affairs of the Faculty of Engineering Science, and Wim Polet, Director of the International Office. Both sides decided that they should enhance cooperation and encourage more students to exchange visits after reviewing the past records of cooperation. They also affirmed the successes of the joint student training programs between the two universities.

A meeting between the delegation and Prof. Gerard Govers, Vice President of KU Leuven