HKUST(GZ) Sends Delegation to Europe to Boost Two-way Cooperation

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), also known as the HKUST(GZ), sent its second delegation to Europe this year in early June on a trip designed to deepen understanding, bridge education cooperation and attract talents.

The trip came about four months later after President Professor Lionel M. NI’s water-testing tour filled with university meetups, global organization visits, forums and talent fairs.

Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands Tan Jian said universities can play an active role in promoting bilateral education exchanges while meeting the delegation in The Hague.

This time the delegation took the university’s flagship talent-attracting event to the Netherlands. More than 80 students, most of them PhDs and post-docs, came to the event, held on June 2 in Rotterdam, and met the university’s senior management - Professor Yang Yang, the associate vice-president for teaching and learning, and Professor Shi-Wei LEE, the dean of the Systems Hub.

The event showcased the university’s cross-disciplinary education and featured a panel discussion on the topic.

The panel, chaired by Jia Zhao, a Netherlands-based international producer, had a vibrant dialogue among five guest speakers, including Zhiwei Song, founder and chairman Association of Chinese-European Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Hoongli Joosten-Ma, a professor with The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Bei Wang, a media expert.

In a reciprocal visit to the University of Antwerp, the delegation met Professor Herwig Leirs, the soon-to-be rector with the liaison help of Professor Frank Bostyn, who visited the HKUST(GZ) campus in April.

The day in the Belgian city also highlighted the city’s revered fashion and creative arts traditions as the delegation also visited the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and the dean, Johan Pas. In both schools the delegation explored groundbreaking collaboration possibilities.

Professor Shi-Wei LEE expressed expectation of building faculty-to-faculty exchanges in his visits to Utrecht University and Eindhoven University of Technology as the delegation wrapped up the Netherlands trip.

In parallel, the university’s signature youth exchange program - Global Walking Classroom’s Paris edition enabled more than 15 students to get firsthand and immersive experience of French culture in a one-week journey.

Marking the World Environment Day, more than 40 youth leaders and university students attended a round-table discussion about sustainable development as the student entourage’s Paris adventure also came to the end.

Professor Yang delivered opening remarks at the event, co-organized by the HKUST(GZ) and France-China Foundation.

The trip concluded with talks between Professor Yang and Alon Rozen, the dean of Paris-based Ecole des Ponts Business School, as both sides explored agreement possibilities.