On March 24, the Office of International Affairs (OIA) at Wuhan University’s (WHU) organized the university’s first Sino-French Strategic Cooperation Symposium. Experts and scholars from the university with experience of advanced education in France or active engagement in international cooperation with France, as well as relevant officials from the Undergraduate College, the Graduate College, the Office of Science and Technology for Development of WHU, and the Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences attended the event. The symposium was presided over by Gui Ling, vice director of the OIA.
Symposium opening
He Xiaoying, the OIA chairperson responsible for exchanges with France, first offered a brief overview of the current status of WHU’s collaboration with France, also outlining the characteristics, advantages, shortcomings and challenges in the field. During the subsequent discussions, Wu Xia from the School of Medicine, Lu Lizhu from the School of Marxism, and Xiong Fangfang from the School of History expressed their opinions on developing talent through exchanges with France. Wu Feng from the School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Hu Heng from the School of Civil Engineering, and Chen Liang from the State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing discussed their ideas on deepening scientific research cooperation with the French side. Hu Sijia from the OIA, Wang Zhan from the French Department, and Wang Yujue from the School of Information Management shared information on the planning for the establishment of the “Sino-French-African Higher Education Community”. After thorough communication, attendees proposed future development plans, including the integration of resources to form cross-college Sino-French classes and establish joint laboratories.
Li Xiaoshu, director of the OIA, during his speech at the event
Li Xiaoshu, the director of the OIA, delivered a concluding speech. He pointed out that cooperation and exchanges with France in the areas of talent cultivation and scientific research are essential characteristics of WHU’s disciplinary construction as well as one of the university’s most important advantages. Enhancing Sino-French cooperation meets not only WHU’s urgent need for implementing its own future development blueprint but also constitutes an instrumental part of building a new paradigm for international cooperation. He stressed that strengthening international cooperation calls for both passion and prudent institutional design in which scholars with international exchange experience and competencies are the main force in exchanges with France. He also encouraged participants to think and act positively and to contribute their intelligence and enthusiasm so as to advance the development of WHU’s cooperation with France.
Li Xiaoshu issues membership certificates
At the end of the symposium, Li Xiaoshu announced the establishment of the “Wuhan University Strategic Advisory Committee on Exchanges with France” and issued the first batch of membership certificates to eight experts: Wang Zhan, Zhang Gen, Xiong Fangfang, Li Yinghua, Wang Yujue, Wu Feng, Hu Heng and Zhao Yan.
Rewritten by Wang Yihan
Edited by Li Jing, Qin Shihan
