On April 17th, Prof. Katie Normington, Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University (DMU), led a delegation to visit USTB for communication and exchange. Mr. WU Guilong, Chancellor of USTB, and Prof. LYU Zhaoping, Vice President of USTB met with the delegation and held a symposium. The symposium was presided over by Prof. ZHANG Dawei, Director of the USTB Office of International Affairs.

Mr. WU Guilong welcomed the delegation of Prof. Normington and introduced the school-running characteristics of USTB. He said that USTB has always adhered to the philosophy of “Specialization, high-quality, and internationalization,” actively promoting in-depth cooperation with world-renowned universities and high-level research institutions. Since co-founding the USTB-DMU Confucius Institute (CI), USTB and DMU have always maintained a close cooperative relationship. Looking into the future, Mr. WU hoped that the two universities would rely on the CI, carry out more substantive cooperation to enhance mutual development.

Prof. LYU Zhaoping thanked Prof. Normington for her support toward USTB and the CI. He pointed out that the two sides should take this visit as an opportunity to further share educational resources and expand cooperation in the fields of talent cultivation, scientific research, teacher and student exchange, innovation & entrepreneurship, etc.

Prof. Katie Normington thanked USTB for the invitation and briefly introduced the development history and recent accomplishments of DMU. She spoke highly of USTB’s educational philosophy and hoped to further expand the cooperation between the two universities through this visit, and jointly promote the development strategies of globalization and internationalization.

During the free exchange session, the two sides carried out in-depth communication in the fields of environmental engineering, industrial design, and carbon-neutrality, etc. And further exchanged ideas on strengthening cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific research, etc.

Before the symposium, the DMU delegation visited the USTB History Museum to learn about the USTB’s development history and cultural traditions. Mr. Ian Thomas, Associate Dean at the DMU Faculty of Business and Law, Mr. Gordon Boyes, Head of DMU Progression and Pathways, Mr. Dahai Gao, Associate Director of DMU East Asia; as well as Ms. HE Jin, Head of the USTB Office of Alumni Association and the USTB Educational Development Foundation, Ms. LI Bei, Deputy Director of the USTB Office of International Affairs, and other relevant personnel participated in the symposium.