From April 7 to 15, Chair of the University Committee, Zhang Guangjun led a delegation to the UK, France, and Germany to strengthen the cooperation between HUST and European universities and research institutions in the fields of education and technology. The visit aimed to establish a new framework for higher education and scientific collaboration with Europe.

At the University of Birmingham, Zhang met with key officials including Vice-Chancellor and Principal Adam Tickell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Robin Mason, and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor John Frampton to discuss the development of Joint Education Program. He also conferred a guest professorship upon Professor Chris Tselepis, Director of Education College of Medicine and Health, and visited the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education. The two universities jointly held a seminar titled "Sino-foreign Collaborative Education and Higher Education Internationalization," exploring cross-border education and other relevant topics.

At the University of Bristol, Zhang met with Evelyn Welch, the President, and Liang-Fong Wong, the Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation. They renewed the cooperation memorandum and the "3+1" joint talent training agreement between the two universities.

At Oxford University, Zhang met with Martin Williams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, to review the outcomes of the joint research internship summer camp. They also held in-depth discussions on diversifying collaborative talent cultivation models and deepening substantive partnership initiatives.

At Queen Mary University of London, Zhang met with Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, Vice Principal for Health for Queen Mary’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, to review the achievements of the joint research seed fund collaboration. In addition, they reached a consensus on deepening the cooperation in medical talent cultivation and scientific research. Representatives from the medical schools and affiliated hospitals from both universities engaged in academic exchanges and partnership discussions.

At the Grande École d'ingénieurs du numérique (Paris Institute of Digital Technology, ISEP), Zhang met with Aline Aubertin, Dean & General Manager of ISEP, and signed a "3+2" joint training agreement in computer science and cybersecurity. The two universities co-hosted a seminar titled "Digital Engineering Education," featuring pioneering discussions on talent development in digital sciences.

At ParisTech, Zhang met with Christian Lerminiaux, President of ParisTech and Director of Chimie ParisTech. They signed a student exchange agreement and a supplementary inter-university cooperation memorandum. The two sides co-hosted a seminar titled "Excellence in Engineering Education for the Future," examining global trends in engineering education reform and exploring new approaches to collaborative cultivation of high-level talent.

At Goethe University Frankfurt, Zhang met with Bernhard Brüne, Vice President for Research, to discuss the establishment of a joint laboratory for cardiopulmonary sciences. He also witnessed the signing of a joint talent training agreement between the HUST Tongji Medical College and Goethe University Frankfurt’s Faculty of Medicine.

At the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Zhang met with Director Thomas Braun, a member of the German Academy of Sciences, to discuss deepening academic and research collaboration in cardiopulmonary sciences. Zhang also conferred upon him an advisory professorship.

During his UK visit, Zhang Guangjun also visited Academician Alexei Kornyshev at Imperial College London, who is an Honorary Professor at HUST.

During his visit, Zhang Guangjun engaged in discussions with alumni representatives from Germany, France, and the UK, and inaugurated the Overseas Alumni Home.

Zhang Guangjun and the delegation also met with Yang Xinyu, Permanent Delegate of China to UNESCO. Both sides exchanged views on leveraging HUST's academic advantages to participate in and support UNESCO initiatives, as well as cultivating high-level talents.

Written by: Li Yi

Edited by: Ren Xinni, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng