Nov. 23, the construction exchange meeting of the international cooperation platform for China’s 16 key engineering universities (referred to hereafter as “16U”), organized by the Department of Overseas Projects, Office of Scientific R&D, was held in Tsinghua University. Xue Qikun, Tsinghua University’s Vice President, Gao Runsheng, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, and Yue Jia, Director of the Division of General Affairs and Planning, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as representatives and persons in charge of scientific research management from the 16U partners attended the meeting.

 

Xue Qikun expressed his gratitude for the participation of the universities, adding that the reports presented at the 19^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China had emphasized the ideas of a new era, a new mission and new journey, and thus both higher education and scientific research also entered into a new era under such circumstances. As such the international cooperative strategy of the universities should be reconsidered and rearranged, so that they could better serve both national development and the progress of world civilization. Xue Qikun expressed his wish that through this exchange meeting universities could discuss how, under the new circumstances and facing national demands towards the construction of “double first-rate” universities and towards the regional cooperation with “the Belt and the Road” region, they could deepen the construction of international scientific research platforms and contribute in talent cultivation and scientific research, by combining each university’s specific disciplinary characteristics and advantages.

 

In his keynote speech, Gao Runsheng pointed out that the 16U mechanism has played an important role in leading the development of China’s engineering colleges. He also commented that now, in the implementation of the spirit of the 19^th National Congress of the Communist Party and the development of universities international cooperation, featured discussions such as this exchange meeting were both necessary and timely. He hoped that the meeting could provide important suggestions for the implementation of national strategic plans, and encouraged the 16U members to explore new modes of international cooperation based on mutual understanding.

 

Yue Jia’s keynote speech, entitled “Continuously deepening and propelling international technological innovation and cooperation”, gave a systematic introduction to the new situation and new mission for international technological innovation. In her speech Yue Jia also presented the  basic situation of international scientific innovation cooperation, and explained in detail the “13th Five-year Plan on International Technological Innovation and Cooperation”. In her speech she said that the role and importance of science and technology diplomacy has been continuously increasing as part of China’s overall diplomacy, noting also that following the strategic goal of building an innovative nation, further developments in international technological cooperation should be sought. She hoped that the universities would cooperate in facilitating international technological cooperation, thereby bringing forward new proposals and measures to better enhance their research capacity and position in the global technological arena.

 

As representatives of Tsinghua University, Prof. Liu Dehua from the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Prof. Meng Yonggang from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, introduced their experiences in the construction of international scientific research platforms from their perspective as the Director of the Tsinghua’s China-Latin America Joint Lab for Clean Energy and Climate Change, and the Director of the Tsinghua University - RWTH Aachen Joint Lab for Advanced Equipment Innovative Design and Manufacture, respectively.