Chen Jie, Party secretary of the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), led a delegation to Italy and France from Dec 10 to 15.
During the visit, they met with Lu Ping, the minister counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Italy, and Deng Li, the Chinese ambassador to France. They also held discussions with Ambassador of Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Yang Xinyu, and Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO Stefania Giannini. The delegation visited several institutions, including the Polytechnic University of Milan, the University of Bologna, Sapienza University of Rome, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Université Paris Cité, Emlyon Business School's Paris Campus, Sorbonne University, and Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). They also held discussions with alumni and experts in France. During the visit, Chen and his delegation attended youth scholar exchange meetings in Milan and Paris.
Chen Jie talks with Lu Ping. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Chen Jie talks with Deng Li. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
During the meeting with Minister Counselor Lu, Chen expressed his hope for continued cooperation between HIT and Italian universities with the support of the embassy. Lu stated that the embassy would continue to promote practical cooperation between HIT and Italian universities.
In his talks with Ambassador Deng, Chen noted that HIT has established close cooperative relationships with several top French universities and international organizations. The university aims to expand cooperation with French universities and research institutions in areas such as talent cultivation. Deng expressed that the embassy would support HIT in deepening its cooperation with France through policy communication and other means.
Chen Jie talks with Yang Xinyu. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Chen Jie visits UNESCO. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
When Chen talked with Ambassador Yang, he introduced the distinctive features and international cooperation layout of HIT in engineering, humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies. Yang expressed his appreciation for HIT and said he looked forward to the university further enhancing cooperation with UNESCO and related international organizations.
When Chen met with Stefania Giannini, the two parties had discussions on topics such as promoting the establishment of chair projects and expressed their commitment to continuously building high-level academic cooperation and knowledge-sharing platforms.
On the morning of Dec 10, Chen met with Giuliano Noci, vice-rector of Politecnico di Milano, and signed a student exchange program agreement. Chen highlighted HIT's distinctive advantages in discipline development, while Giuliano Noci introduced Politecnico di Milano's relevant situation, reaching a consensus on cooperation.
Chen Jie visits Politecnico di Milano. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
HIT signs an agreement with Politecnico di Milano. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
On the afternoon of Dec 10, Chen held talks with Giovanni Molari, president of the University of Bologna, and Raffaella Campaner, vice-rector for international relations. Both sides introduced their universities' academic strengths and reached a consensus on cooperation in various fields.
Chen Jie visits the University of Bologna. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
On the morning of Dec 11, Chen held talks with Giuseppe Ciccarone, vice-rector of Sapienza University of Rome. Both parties introduced their respective universities' overall situations and reached an agreement on joint student training. During the visit, Chen also met with Oliviero Diliberto, dean of the Faculty of Law at Sapienza University of Rome, for a focused exchange on the innovative development of the law discipline.
Chen Jie visits Sapienza University of Rome. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Chen Jie talks with Oliviero Diliberto. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
On the afternoon of Dec 11, Chen held talks with Pierre-Paul Vidal, a principal researcher and laboratory director of research at CNRS. The two parties reached a consensus on cooperation in life medicine and interdisciplinary research and will continue to explore Sino-French higher education cooperation on social issues such as aging.
On the morning of Dec 12, Chen held discussions with Nicolas Péjout, executive vice-president, and Mark Smith, vice-president of Emlyon Business School's Paris Campus. They signed a memorandum of understanding on academic cooperation, reaching a high consensus on deepening strategic cooperation between the two schools in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and expanding cross-disciplinary integration of advantageous disciplines.
Chen Jie visits Emlyon Business School's Paris Campus. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
HIT signs a memorandum of understanding on academic cooperation with Emlyon Business School. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
On the afternoon of Dec 12, Chen held talks with Professor Sami Mustapha, director of the Faculty of Mathematics at Sorbonne University, and Olivier Pironneau, foreign secretary of the French Academy of Sciences. Both parties expressed their intention to deepen cooperation around the development of student training programs and promote collaboration in fields such as mathematics and AI.
Chen Jie visits Sorbonne University. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
On the afternoon of Dec 12, Chen held talks with Etienne Cazin, director of the Centre for Asia, Pacific, Africa and Middle East at Sciences Po. The two parties reached a consensus on cooperation in multiple fields.
Chen Jie visits Sciences Po. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
During their stay in France, Chen and his delegation held discussions with scholars and alumni in France, providing detailed explanations of the university's achievements in talent cultivation in recent years, and listened to alumni's opinions and suggestions for the future development of their alma mater.
Chen Jie discusses with scholars and alumni in France. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Scholars and alumni in France pose for a group photo. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Chen also attended youth scholar exchange meetings in Milan and Paris, expressing hope that more young talents would join HIT.
Chen Jie delivers a speech at the youth scholar exchange meetings. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Youth scholars listen to Chen Jie's speech at the exchange meetings. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Editor: Yang Wenyu