Mayor of Turku, Finland, Visits TJU

On September 10, 2013, Mayor Aleksi Randell of Turku, Finland, visited Tianjin University (TJU). TJU President Li Jiajun met with the guests. Representatives from the School of Chemical Engineering, the School of Civil Engineering, the Office of Science and Technology, and the Office of International Cooperation attended the meeting.

At the meeting, President Li mentioned that the cities of Tianjin and Turku have frequent exchanges based on their sister-city relationships. Referencing the opportunity of the Arctic Technology Conference 2013, planned to be held in Tianjin this November, TJU will attend this conference to further promote cooperation in science and technology between TJU and the city of Turku. Next, President Li provided an overview of TJU's advantageous disciplines, and hoped to see more cooperation covering these disciplines between the two groups. Mayor Randell gave a briefing on Finland showing an overview of its universities and its government’s incentives towards graduates’ entrepreneurship, as well as the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in graduates’ employment. He expressed his pleasure to see exchange visits between TJU and Turku and his hope for more in-depth cooperation between the two sides. Subsequently, both sides traded views on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, energy, sustainability, and mutual higher educational exchange.

After the meeting, the delegation visited the TJU History Museum, Newton's Apple Tree, and Peiyang Square, gaining a deeper understanding of TJU history, culture, and campus life.

Turkuis Finland's second largest port and an important industrial base. Located on the southwestern coastal border, it is the regional center of Southwest Finland. Turku has a developed industry. Its shipbuilding industry scale ranks first in Finland. Also its oil refining, cement, metal processing, textile, tobacco, and wood processing occupy an important place in Finland. The University of Turku is located in Turku. It signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TJU in 2013.