Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner Visits Zhejiang University

    On September 16, Zou Xiaodong, the Secretary of Party Committee in Zhejiang University, met with a delegation led by Bruce Rauner, governor of Illinois. It is the first time that Bruce Rauner has paid a visit to China since he was sworn in as Illinois governor.

    There has long been a close tie between Zhejiang Province and Illinois. In addition to business and industry, they expand their partnership in education. Zhejiang University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have launched a joint institute.

 “The partnership between Zhejiang University and the University of Illinois is one of the highlights in international cooperation and exchanges at Zhejiang University. Since they entered into an inter-university framework agreement in 2009, they have carried out exchange programs and research cooperation in engineering and agriculture. Since the ZJU-UIUC Institute started its recruitment last year, it has captured extensive attention and has thus become a paradigm of innovation in China’s tertiary education,” Zou Xiaodong said, “I look forward to further strengthening cooperation with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, in terms of talent cultivation, scientific research and technological translation, thereby making more contributions to the economic development and cultural exchange of Zhejiang Province and Illinois.”

    Bruce Rauner said that he cared a lot about friendship and cooperation between Illinois and Zhejiang Province. The University of Illinois is world-renowned for engineering and lays much emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship, which is highly compatible with the development strategy of Zhejiang University. In addition, Chinese students have become the largest group among international students in Illinois. He hoped that the two universities could enhance cooperation, deepen exchanges, produce innovation outcomes and benefit the Chinese and American people.

    Bruce Rauner also addressed faculty and students at ZJU-UIUC. He encouraged students to study and work in Illinois, to promote cultural exchanges, and to build a wonderful reputation in innovation and entrepreneurship with 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.