President Li Jiajun Visits the U.S.

From October 11 to 16, Tianjin University (TJU) President Li Jiajun led a delegation to the United States. Delegates included representatives from the Office of Undergraduate Affairs, the School of Civil Engineering, and the School of Sciences.

On October 12, the TJU delegation visited Rice University (Rice) and participated in its centennial anniversary celebration. A presidential forum was part of the celebration activities. At the forum, President Li, Ivano Dionigi, President of the University of Bologna in Italy, Shirley Tilghman, President of Princeton University in the United States, Umran Inan, President of Koc University in Turkey, and Joachim Treusch, President of Jacobs University Bremen in Germany discussed “the future of global research universities”.

President Li gave a presentation on the development of Chinese universities, visible through that of TJU, the oldest in China. According to President Li, the development of Chinese research universities was closely related to the socio-economic development of China. Committed to the mission of revitalizing the country through education, Chinese research universities had made tremendous contributions to the development of Chinese society. In the context of economic globalization, Chinese research universities would work with others across the globe in facing global challenges and in building a better world. Besides, President Li also mentioned the national projects "211" and "985" which fund the development of top research universities in China.

Other attendees talked about the management and operations of universities, education equity, and other various topics. A lively question and answer session concluded the forum.

After the forum, the TJU delegation visited Smalley Research Center on Rice’s campus. There, they exchanged ideas with Rice professors about the research and development of nano energy materials.

On October 14, the delegation called on Consul-General Xu Erwen and Deputy Consul-General Zhang Chuanbing at the Consulate-General of China in Houston, Texas. President Li gave an overview of TJU's history, its research collaboration with industry, and the major national research projects in Tianjin during recent years. He pointed out that Chinese universities are supposed to develop according to their own characteristics, and should be prepared for sharing research resources. Xu mentioned that the Consulate-General facilitated the development of Chinese enterprises in the United States. The development of students' leadership is a key element of American education. American Universities and enterprises maintain a close relationship in terms of talent exchange and joint research. They can attract talents from all over the world to teach or do research. President Li shared with Consul General Xu about the construction of the two overseas Confucius Institutes by TJU and the cooperation between TJU and American universities.

On October 15, the delegation arrived in Atlanta. There, they met with G.P. "Bud" Peterson, President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT), and other representatives. They renewed the Memorandum on the Atlanta Summer Program (ASP). Reviewing the development and achievements of ASP, both sides agreed that through ASP platform, Chinese students broadened horizons, improved international competitiveness, and developed team spirit. Additionally, further collaboration in related fields was also discussed.

At GT, the delegation met with Wang Zonglin, a professor in the College of Engineering, and an honorary professor of TJU. He updated the delegation on his latest research results in nano energy.

During their stay in the United States, the delegation met with TJU alumni. They talked about TJU’s recent development and the ways to support their alma mater's development.