On November 4th, HUST held an online meeting with the University of Toronto to further promote bi-lateral research cooperation. Chen Jianguo, Vice President of HUST, and Alex Mihailidis, Associate Vice President of the University of Toronto, attended the meeting. Chen Jie, director of the HUST Office of International Affairs, presided over the meeting.

Chen Jianguo spoke highly of the fruitful cooperation achievements in recent years in his opening remarks. He pointed out that since the online strategic dialogue in 2021, the two universities have co-organized a series of multidisciplinary and multi-form academic exchange activities, which have deepened friendship and enhanced mutual trust. Today’s meeting is a significant one. In the new era, advancing global innovation is an integral part of the HUST Global Strategy 2030. HUST hopes to work closely with the University of Toronto to strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation, and jointly contribute to global sustainable development.

Peng Yumeng, manager of the Division of American and Oceania Affairs of HUST Office of International Affairs, and Zhao Xin, director of China Partnerships from the University of Toronto, reviewed the existing collaborations between the two sides and introduced the joint scientific research projects respectively. During the discussion session, Chen Jie, Michelle Beaton - Director of International Relations from the University of Toronto, and others reached a consensus that the two universities will set up joint seed fund projects and organize bilateral joint forums to maximize the potential of bilateral cooperation and increase high-quality outcomes.

In his concluding remarks, Alex Mihailidis said that the University of Toronto cherished the long-term friendship with HUST. The collaboration has resulted in a number of mutually beneficial outcomes such as two joint research centers, a growing number of high-level collaborative papers, and extensive interdisciplinary lecture series. He expects that with the establishment of joint seed fund program, the two universities will strengthen cooperation in more disciplines and research topics and to address global challenges together.

Written by: Gong Jiarui

Source: Office of International Affairs

Edited by: Zhang Zhanyu, Peng Yumeng