President Zhang Xinxin Leads Delegation to Hokkaido University to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Inter-University Collaboration

        On August 29, President Zhang Xinxin led a USTB delegation to Hokkaido University (HU) in Japan to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of signing the two university’s first cooperative agreement. Scheduled for the event was an opening ceremony, bilateral seminars, and roundtable discussions for the participants. Present at the celebration were Sun Zhenyong, the Chinese Consul General in Sapporo, Toyoharu Nawa, President of HU, Masanori Kasahara, Vice President of HU, Naoshi Baba, Vice President of the Muroran Institute of Technology and Zhang Xinxin, President of USTB, along with over 100 students and teachers.

 

         At the opening ceremony HU President Nawa welcomed the delegation and spoke warmly of the 30-year friendship between HU and USTB, emphasizing their accomplishments in academic exchanges and joint research. He pointed out that as USTB was the first Chinese university to officially sign a cooperative agreement with HU, it stood highly as a strategic partner. Together the two schools had engaged in significant and mutually beneficial international exchanges.

 

Hokkaido University President Toyoharu Nawa

        President Zhang thanked President Nawa on behalf of USTB for the warm reception, as well as the HU staff for organizing the celebration. He then spoke of how USTB attaches great importance to its three-decade long partnership with HU, which has included teacher and student exchanges, as well as joint research. Over the past 30 years the two university’s staff and students had grown closer together, resulting in many advances and a deepening friendship. He concluded by expressing his hope that the teachers and students present would take the opportunity to continue the tradition of working together.

 

USTB President Zhang Xinxin

 

        Following that Consul General Sun Zhenyong was invited to give a speech. He praised the 30-year partnership between HU and USTB which contributed to the deepening economic ties between China and Hokkaido, as well as growing cultural and educational exchanges, working towards strengthening the friendship between China and Japan. The Consul General stressed the importance of building good relations between the two countries, and implored the leaders of HU and USTB to deepen ties not only for the purpose of education and economics, but to act as a bridge of friendship between the two peoples.

 

Consul General Sun Zhenyong

 

        While celebrating their 30^th anniversary the schools held an Academic Exchange Special Merit Award Ceremony, which were awarded to Professor Emeritus Heishichiro Takahasi and Professor Hu Benfu. Awards were delivered by the leader of each university.

 

         After the opening ceremony, special lectures were delivered by HU Professor Harunori Nagata and USTB Professor Cao Wenbin, which commenced the 15^th HU-USTB bilateral seminar. In the afternoon students and teachers participated in symposiums on materials, metallurgy, chemistry, machinery, civil engineering, and the humanities. They also toured the HU campus including the museum, dorms, and laboratories.

 

         On the morning of August 30 President Zhang attended a roundtable discussion for Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean universities, who discussed the process of internationalizing the university system.

 

A brief history of cooperation between USTB and HU:

In 1986, USTB academician Ke Jun met HU Professor Norihito Tambo (who would later become President of HU) in Japan, which directly led to the leaders of the two universities agreeing to sign a cooperative agreement. By August 2017 both universities had jointly held 15 bilateral academic seminars on topics including materials science, metallurgical, mechanical and civil engineering, physics, chemistry, law, economics, management, and the humanities. Student exchanges have also increased on a yearly basis, which have come to include short-term internships and other projects.

 

Uploaded：2017-09-18 08:38:00

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