Peking University, March 18, 2024: Between March 5 and 13, Gong Qihuang, president of Peking University (PKU) and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), led a delegation to visit Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia, where they conducted in-depth exchanges and strengthened cooperative relations with partner universities.

A group photo at the Asia Light Conference 2024, held from March 6 to 8 in Singapore

During the visit to Singapore, Gong Qihuang was invited to attend the Asia Light Conference 2024, jointly organized by prestigious journals including Light: Science & Applications, eLight, and Light: Advanced Manufacturing, aiming to contribute to the frontier development of optics. 

While in Singapore, the delegation met with Cheng Boon Yew, the vice principal of the National University of Singapore. Representatives of both sides expressed the expectation for joint scientific research and exchanges among scholars and students.

A group photo at the University of Auckland

The delegation next traveled to New Zealand and met with Dawn Freshwater, the principal of the University of Auckland, who visited Peking University last September. The two parties reviewed the fruitful collaboration and exchanges built upon the New Zealand Centre at Peking University, established by the two universities in 2007 as an important platform for educational collaboration between China and New Zealand. Additionally, both sides hoped to expand cooperation in the fields of digital education and artificial intelligence.

The Peking University delegation meets with representatives from Massey University

During the visit to Massey University, Cynthia White, the vice principal of the university, expressed her appreciation to Peking University for its longstanding exchange and language-learning opportunities for students from Massey University. The two sides expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation in the fields of agriculture, the green economy, and sustainable development through the New Zealand Centre and explored the possibility of cooperation in industrial design and the low-altitude economy.

A group photo at the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand

During their stay in New Zealand, the delegation also visited the Chinese Embassy to meet with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Wang Xiaolong and had thorough discussions on education and cooperation between China and New Zealand.

Gong Qihuang meets with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Duncan Maskell

Later in Australia, the delegation paid a reciprocal visit to the University of Melbourne, demonstrating the long-term cooperative relationship between the two universities, which have established cooperation in many fields and hope to carry out pilot projects for joint doctoral and postdoctoral training in the future.

Gong Qihuang meets with Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University Sharon Pickering

Subsequently, the delegation visited Monash University and was received by President Sharon Pickering. In the meeting, the two sides had extensive discussions in the fields of medicine, life sciences, and computer science. Both sides hoped to take this visit as a start to develop cooperation in joint postdoctoral training, psychological counseling training, student summer programs, and so on.

The signing ceremony of a student exchange agreement between Peking University and the Australian National University

At the Australian National University, Gong met with the university's new president, Genevieve Bell, and former president, Brian Schmidt. Since 1980, the two universities have maintained close exchanges. In recent years, they have worked closely within the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) and have achieved fruitful results. In the future, both hope to have additional cooperation in fields such as law, rural development, and carbon neutrality based on the existing joint doctoral training programs. After the meeting, Gong and Bell renewed the student exchange agreement. 

A group photo at the University of Sydney

At the University of Sydney, the Peking University delegation met with Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Mark Scott AO. In the meeting, Gong highlighted the longstanding partnership between the two universities, adding that they had held “University Day” activities in each other's schools on multiple occasions. Gong also mentioned that in 2023, the two universities also jointly launched the "Joint Center for Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development." In his speech, Mark Scott highlighted the two institutions' similarity and complementarity while discussing the potential to establish a strategic partnership between the two sides.

Peking University delegation at the Chinese Embassy/Consulates General in Australia

During their trip to Australia, the delegation also visited Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Xiao Qian, Consul General Fang Xinwen of the Consulate General in Melbourne, and Acting Consul General Wang Chunsheng of the Consulate General in Sydney, with whom the delegation discussed issues such as enhanced academic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between Peking University and Australian institutions.

Overall, the packed and prolific trips to Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia served to enhance collaborations on basic and interdisciplinary disciplines and facilitate discussions on issues of common concern. 

Written by: Wang Yu Hsuan
Edited by: Dennis Meng
Source: PKU News (Chinese)