At 8 pm on April 21st, an online meeting on university partnership was co-held by HUST and the University of Toronto (U of T). Representatives from both universities discussed the ways to further strengthen scientific research collaboration, personnel exchanges and to deepen comprehensive partnership between the two universities in the post-pandemic era. Chen Jianguo, vice president of HUST, attended the meeting. Chen Jie, the director of HUST Office of International Affairs, presided over the meeting.
In his speech, Chen Jianguo pointed out that the cooperation between HUST and UT has become closer and closer since the signing of the MoU in 2019. Although the outbreak of COVID-19 suspended mutual visits between the two sides, the bilateral exchanges and friendship were deepened during the tough time. Last year, the joint scientific research results increased, with the number of joint publications reached a new high. All this indicated a strong momentum and the huge potential of the continuing cooperation between the two sides. HUST has launched a series of global initiatives including the Key Partnership Initiative and the Joint Scientific Research Platform Cultivation Initiative. In the future, HUST looks forward to working with U of T to yield even more fruitful outcomes in scientific research, student joint training, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and other areas.
Alex Mihailidis, the Associate Vice President of International Partnerships of U of T stated that they were greatly inspired by the post-epidemic revival of both the city of Wuhan and HUST. The cooperation shines as a vivid example of the significance of international cooperation during the epidemic. For instance, the collaboration on robotics has reinforced an urgent need for broader attention on the service for the elderly. Both Toronto and Wuhan are both world class cities that serve as gateways to major markets and cultural geographies. U of T stands ready to work with HUST to promote the development of the Joint Research Center and conduct in-depth substantial collaborations in engineering disciplines.
Later, representatives from the bilateral Offices of International Affairs and the relevant departments and schools discussed further cooperation reaching an initial consensus on varied topics including student online joint courses, student exchange projects and scientific research cooperation.
Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto is the world's top public research university. According to the US News & World Report 2020 World University Rankings, U of T ranks first among Canadian universities and 18th in the world. U of T excels in engineering and medical sciences and scores significant achievements in scientific research. HUST and UT established a cooperative relationship in 1983 and signed a MoU in 2019. In addition, the universities signed further cooperation agreements including the joint research center for robotics and eldercare and the student exchange project for students from Life Science.
Written by: Suxin Wang
Edited by: Zhang Aoyi, Andrew, Peng Yumeng
Chinese
