From January 12th to 18th, Vice President of Tsinghua University, Xie Weihe led a delegation to visit five strategic partner companies in Japan. During this visit, both parties exchanged ideas on earlier work, discussed future cooperation, and deepened the friendship between Tsinghua University and the partner companies.
On January 12th Xie Weihe, Ma Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of Tsinghua UICC and Director of Overseas R&D Management Office, and Li Bing, Deputy Secretary-General of Tsinghua University Foundation visited the headquarters of MHI in Tokyo, accompanied by Gu Chunwei, Director of the Tsinghua University- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Joint R&D Center. The Vice President of MHI, Dr. Sunao Aoki welcomed Xie Weihe and expressed the hope that the Tsinghua University-MHI Joint R&D Center could make further progress under the support and promotion from both parties.
On the morning of January 13th, Tsinghua delegation visited Sony, a member of UICC. They discussed with Mr. Osamu Kumagai, Vice President of Sony and Mr. Masahiro Fujita, Director of the System Technology Institute, how to promote further scientific research collaboration between Tsinghua and Sony. In the afternoon, the delegation also visited Hitachi, a member of UICC. Former President of Hitachi Mr. Shoyama Etsuhiko, and Vice President of Hitachi Mr. Takashi Hatchoji had a discussion with the Tsinghua delegation on the issues of R&D collaboration, talent training and Sino-Japanese exchange. After the discussion, the delegation visited the Hitachi Central Research Institute, and was given a brief introduction on research achievements in ultrasound, micro-chip, finger vein technology and network technology.
From January 14th to 15th, Xie Weihe and Ma Jun took part in the Tsinghua University (Department of Thermal Engineering) - Toshiba Energy and Environment Research Center 2009 Annual Report Meeting, which also acted as the Third Steering Committee Meeting. The meeting was chaired by Cai Ningsheng, Director of the joint research center. Dr. Ichiro Tai, Vice President and CTO of Toshiba and Xie Weihe delivered speeches in the meeting. In his speech, Xie Weihe emphasized that with the rapid development of global economy, environmental issues have transcended national borders. He also expressed the hope that the cooperation between Tsinghua and Toshiba would promote global environmental protection. Nine project leaders reported the progress of the projects which are undertaken by the joint research center. Prof. Yao Qiang, Dean of the Dept. Thermal Engineering Tsinghua University, made closing remarks. The steering committee also evaluated three proposed projects and suggested further directions for research.
On January 18th, Xie Weihe, Ma Jun and Hao Jiming, Director of the Tsinghua University-Toyota Research Center visited Toyota, which was the first overseas company to establish a university-level joint research center with Tsinghua. They reviewed and exchanged ideas on bilateral research cooperation with Vice President of Toyota Mr.Takeshi Uchiyamada and Managing Director of Toyota Mr. Suzuki Shigeki and Mr Isogai Masashi. Both parties expressed the hope that the research achievements of the joint research center would be applied to production as soon as possible to benefit society. The Tsinghua delegation also visited Toyota's manufacturing facilities and the achievements show hall. Xie Weihe gave a high degree of appreciation of Toyota's advanced technology and hoped that the cooperation of both sides would provide society with more high quality products.
