On May 28th, a donation ceremony between Tianjin University (TJU) and Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) was held online to mark the successful delivery of 10,000 masks donated by TJU to JAIST.
President Terano Minoru, Vice-Presidents Iida Hiroyuki, Nishiyama Kazonori and Mizuta Hiroshi from JAIST, President Jin Donghan, and Vice-President Hu Wenping from TJU, and leaders from both universities’ relevant administrative departments attended the ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by Yamamoto Osamu, Head of JAIST General Affairs Department.
At the ceremony, Uehara Ryuhei, Dean of JAIST’s School of Information Science handed over the masks earlier mailed by Tianjin University’s College of Intelligence and Computing for epidemic prevention and control to JAIST.
President Terano Minoru spoke on behalf of JAIST. He expressed his heartfelt thanks to Tianjin University for the care, support and help its people exhibited during the pandemic. He briefly reviewed the cooperation between the two sides, especially in joint student training and scientific research. He hoped that both parties would work together to further strengthen inter-school exchanges and promote cooperation in various fields.
TJU’s President Jin Donghan gave his sincere greetings to the stuff and students at JAIST in his address and took the opportunity to thank JAIST for their support to TJU.
“When the pandemic situation in China was most severe, JAIST extended a helping hand and donated masks to the College of Intelligence and Computing at TJU. The TJU Community will never forget the support from JAIST in that most difficult time”, President Jin said, relating that to return this kindness as the old Chinese saying “a drop received in need will be repaid with a whole river” goes, TJU managed to purchase 10,000 masks and donated them to JAIST after they learnt about the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of protective materials in Japan. He was hopeful that this crisis would pass and the two sides could proceed with their collaboration.
TJU’s Vice President Hu Wenping also spoke at the ceremony, focusing on the good relationship of the two parties and their collaborative achievements in student exchange, faculty mobility and research collaboration.
As is learnt, the cooperation between TJU and JAIST started in 2009. Over the past decade, the two sides have maintained a good cooperative relationship, learning from each other and seeking win-win situation. They have carried out multi-level collaboration in scientific research, talent cultivation and team building. Professor Asano, former President of JAIST, was appointed as a TJU honorary professor in 2017. Professor Dang Jianwu from JAIST served as Dean of the School of Computer Science and Technology at TJU from 2009 to 2016 and is still an adjunct professor in the College.