ZJU leaders visit Japan and America to promote global strategic cooperation

ZOU Xiaodong, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Zhejiang University, led a delegation to visit universities in Japan and America in order to promote deep exchanges and global strategic cooperation and attend the 42nd Annual Conference of the ZJU Alumni Association in North America on Nov. 12-18.

On Nov. 13, the delegation met with leaders from the University of Tokyo, including President Makoto Gonokami, Executive Vice President Haneda Masashi and Former President Arima Akito. Both parties agreed that the two universities cooperated successfully in agricultural and humanistic studies and looked forward to enhancing cooperation in these fields and expanding cooperation in other fields. ZOU Xiaodong and Makoto Gonokami signed an MOU for cooperation and a student exchange program agreement between Zhejiang University and the University of Tokyo.

On Nov. 15, the delegation visited Northwestern University and received a warm welcome from President Morton Schapiro, Vice President for Research Jay Walsh and Vice President for International Relations Dévora Grynspan. Both parties reached a consensus on expanding substantial cooperation. On the basis of cooperative programs in engineering, the two universities agreed to make the most of multi-faceted resources and give priority to cooperation in medicine, law and management in the future. In particular, a joint medical research platform will be set up in response to the challenges of human health.

On Nov. 16, the delegation visited the University of Chicago and met with President Robert Zimmer and Vice President Bala Srinivasan. Both parties spoke highly of the fruitful achievements made through cooperation in recent years and signed an MOU for a more intimate partnership in social sciences and engineering.

Prior to the trips to Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, ZOU Xiaodong met with Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in Chicago. Both parties were full of praise for close cooperation at ZJU-UIUC Institute and hoped to deepen cooperation in scientific research and achievement transformation.

The delegation also visited the Art Institute of Chicago where they exchanged ideas with Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs Sarah Guernsey and Executive Director of Initiatives in Asia WANG Tao and explored the prospect for cooperation and exchanges between the Art and Archaeological Museum of Zhejiang University and the Art Institute of Chicago.

On Nov. 17, ZOU Xiaodong attended the 42nd Annual Conference of the ZJU Alumni Association in North America and delivered a keynote speech. He introduced the latest achievements that ZJU made in implementing the “Double-First Class” initiative, raved about the constant support from the ZJU Alumni Association in North America, and hoped that it would promote ZJU’s enduring legacy, offer valuable assistance to the Global ZJU strategy and lend generous support to the “Double-First Class” initiative.