From October 14 to 22, 2023, WANG Jiaqiong, Secretary of the Party Committee of BJTU, led a delegation to visit Brazil and the United Kingdom under invitation. The delegation paid a visit to the University of Campinas in Brazil, the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and University College London, and attend the relevant conferences and activities. During its stay in the UK, the delegation also paid a visit to ZHANG Jin, Minister Counsellor of Education in the Chinese Embassy in the UK. This visit strengthened the in-depth cooperation between BJTU and high-level universities in Brazil and the United Kingdom, and further enhanced the international cooperation and exchanges of BJTU.
At the University of Campinas in Brazil, WANG Jiaqiong attended the council meeting of the Confucius Institute at the University of Campinas as the Chinese president and delivered a speech. He noted that with the joint efforts of the two universities over the past eight years, the construction and operation of the Confucius Institute at the University of Campinas has achieved fruitful results. As a top university in Brazil, the University of Campinas enjoys a high reputation in the global higher education community, and is highly complementary with BJTU in disciplines and specialty structure with BJTU with great potential for cooperation and development. It is hoped that in the near future, the two sides will continue to maintain close communication on the basis of high-quality joint construction of Confucius Institute, and actively pursue and establish deeper and broader cooperation.
The meeting was also attended by Maria Moretti, Executive Vice President of the University of Campinas, who was entrusted by Antonio Meirelles, President of the Confucius Institute. She welcomed the delegation and thanked BJTU for its long-term support for the work of the Confucius Institute on behalf of the University of Campinas. She said that the Confucius Institute has developed well in recent years and has exerted a wide and profound impact in Brazil, and hoped that through this council meeting, the two universities will further strengthen the in-depth cooperation in joint training of students and joint scientific research.
GAO Qinxiang, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute, and Bruno Conti, the Foreign Director of the Confucius Institute, respectively reported to the council the 2023 work report and the 2024 work plan.
On behalf of BJTU, WANG Jiaqiong renewed the cooperation agreement with the University of Campinas and had in-depth exchanges with João Romano and Rachel Meneguello, vice presidents of the University of Campinas.
During its visit to the University of Campinas, the delegation has also paid a visit to the National Research Center for Energy and Materials and the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory of the University of Campinas, and had an in-depth exchange with Antonio Silva, the head of the Center. The delegation also visited the Chinese teachers working in the Confucius Institute and learned more about their work and life in Brazil.
At the University of Birmingham, WANG Jiaqiong met with Stephen Jarvis, Academic Dean, and Jon Frampton, Vice President for China Affairs of the University. Wang Jiaqiong noted that the two universities have maintained a good cooperative relationship since 2010 and have achieved fruitful results in the fields of student training and joint scientific research. He hoped that through this visit, the two sides will further strengthen communication and exchanges, jointly build international scientific research cooperation platforms such as the China-UK High-speed Rail Research Center and the International Joint Research Center for Rail Transit Control and Safety, and make new and greater contributions to the development of rail transit and higher education in the two countries. Dean Stephen Jarvis welcomed the delegation and extended his sincere greetings on behalf of Adam Tickell, President of the University of Birmingham. He reviewed the achievements of cooperation between the two universities over the years, and hoped that the two sides could continue to give full play to the advantages of their respective characteristic disciplines, further strengthen personnel exchanges and deepen practical cooperation.
On behalf of BJTU, WANG Jiaqiong renewed the cooperation agreement with the University of Birmingham.
During the visit to the University of Birmingham, the delegation has visited the Railway Research and Education Centre of the University of Birmingham and learned more about the university's education and research work, and had a discussion with students of the joint training program of BJTU and the University of Birmingham, learned more about their study and life at the University of Birmingham, expressed sincere greetings and care to the students in the UK, and listened to their opinions and suggestions on the program.
At the University College London, the delegation visited the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis and the Bartlett School of Sustainable Architecture, where they exchanged views with Professor Michael Batty and Dean Priti Parikh, founders of the Centre and Fellows of the British Academy of Sciences, the British Academy of Social Sciences and British Royal Society respectively, and reached a preliminary intention to carry out faculty exchange visits and joint training of doctoral students, with a memorandum of cooperation signed.
During his visit to the UK, WANG Jiaqiong and his delegation also visited ZHANG Jin, Minister Counsellor of Education of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, and had an in-depth discussion with him on the exchanges and cooperation between BJTU and high-level universities in the UK.
The visit was also joined by relevant personnel from the School of Electronics and Information Engineering, School of Systems Science, the Office of Human Resources and the Office of International Affairs.