On January 11th, Dominic McAllister, British Consul-General in Wuhan and Professor Tim Broyd, fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Director of Institute for Digital Innovation in UCL Barlett Faculty of the Built Environment visited HUST. Chen Jianguo, Vice President of HUST and other leaders from HUST’s Office of International Affairs, Research Development Office and the School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering met with the delegation. Chen Jie, Director of HUST Office of International Affairs presided over the meeting.

Chen Jianguo extended a warm welcome to the delegation. He pointed out that UCL and HUST have established a solid foundation of cooperation in civil engineering and architecture for many years, which has led to numerous achievements in talent training and scientific research. On this basis, HUST has recently been approved by the Ministry of Education of China to build a joint international laboratory for intelligent manufacturing. HUST aims to further enhance the collaboration and exchange with more British universities in the future through the joint lab and the Junshan International Campus of HUST.

Dominic McAllister spoke highly of the fruitful achievements of the practical and friendly cooperation between HUST and British universities. He stated that it is of great significance for HUST and UCL to leverage their strengths and engage in cooperation in sustainable development areas such as green buildings and clean energy. The British Consulate-General in Wuhan will continue to support the development of bilateral cooperation, provide convenience for personnel exchanges, and make greater contributions to promoting the cooperation in science and technology and cultural exchanges between China and the UK.

Wan Tian, Division Manager at the Office of International Affairs of HUST, elaborated on HUST’s international cooperation and proposed initiative for win-win cooperation.

Liu Huabei, Dean of the School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering of HUST, introduced the school’s efforts in talent training, academic programs, scientific research, and reviewed the cooperation and exchanges between HUST and UCL. He expressed his wish to further promote mutual visits and high-level research on the basis of existing cooperation, taking the high ground in technological innovation for digital construction with international influence and competitiveness.

Tim Broyd introduced UCL and the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, and suggested that the two universities collaborate in more areas and more ways in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, helping the joint laboratory better serve social development.

After the meeting, the delegation visited the National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction and learned about its highlights and achievements in key technologies such as digital design, intelligent engineering machinery, and robotics.

Written by: Jiang Lexue

Edited by: Yu Shiyun, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng