TJU Delegation Visits the Universities in AUSNZ to Further Collaboration

From August 31 to September 5, a delegation led by the Vice President Shu Gequn from Tianjin University (TJU) visited the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), the University of Canterbury and the University of Auckland. The TJU delegation also included representatives from the School of Mechanical Engineering, the Graduate School, the Personnel Office and the Office of International Cooperation.

During the visit to RMIT, Vice Presidents Andrew Maclntyre and Peter Coloe met with the delegation. Vice President Maclntyre reviewed RMIT’s cooperation with TJU and Tianjin during the recent years. He pointed out that both RMIT and TJU were known for their strengths in engineering and technology, and hoped for high-level international cooperation between the two universities. Vice President Shu talked about the changes at TJU during the recent years, including talent training, disciplinary development, scientific research and international cooperation, especially the implementation of TJU’s international strategy. Further discussions were held on the joint training of students, academic exchanges and joint research. The delegation also visited RMIT’s advanced manufacturing laboratory.

During their stay at Melbourne, the delegation also met with the representatives of the Chinese students and scholars studying there. Vice President Shu gave an overview of TJU and pointed out that TJU was committed to recruiting young talents with overseas study/work experience to join in its efforts in building a world renowned university. The meeting was followed by a Q & A session when the delegation interacted with Chinese students and scholars on topics including talent attraction policy, disciplinary development and the TJU new campus plan, etc.

After the meeting, the delegation paid a visit to the Education Office of the Consulate-General of China in Melbourne and exchanged ideas with Counselor Zhao Jiang on TJU’s cooperation with Australian universities, especially with the University of Melbourne and RMIT. It was hoped that more substantial collaboration between TJU and renowned Australian universities could be facilitated through the platform of the Education Office.

In Christchurch, the delegation was hosted by the President Rod Carr of the University of Canterbury and learnt about the distinctive disciplines, scientific research and international education of the university from him. Vice President Shu reviewed the recent collaboration between the two, especially the undergraduate articulation program. As the two universities shared a lot in common in engineering programs, Vice President Shu suggested that the collaboration should be enhanced in mechanical engineering, civil engineering and other fields of mutual interests.

When visiting the University of Auckland, Vice President Jenny Dixon met with the delegation. The two parties reviewed the recent collaboration, especially the joint training of students, personnel exchanges and research cooperation based on the PhD Program funded by the China Scholarship Council. Vice President Dixon indicated that TJU was an important partner of her university and hoped for a sustainable and deeper collaborative relationship. Vice President Shu spoke about TJU’s role as the first university in China in the development of Chinese modern higher education as well as the progress TJU had made in disciplinary development, research and international cooperation during the recent years. According to him, the two universities shared a lot in common in engineering programs, especially mechanical and materials engineering. It was hoped that more substantial collaborative programs should be promoted. Other topics including the development trend of China’s higher education and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) were also covered during the meeting. Later, the delegation discussed the dual degree programs, summer schools and joint research with their counterparts at the University of Auckland.