JNU President leads delegation to New Zealand and Australia
Date: 23rd May 2019
Source: Office of International Exchanges and Cooperation

JNU President Song Xianzhong was invited to lead a delegation to New Zealand and Australia from May 12 to 19 to promote international scientific research cooperation and joint talent-training. The delegation visited six universities: in New Zealand, Massey University, the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, and in Australia, Queensland University of Technology, Newcastle University and the University of Western Sydney. JNU signed memorandums of understanding with the University of Otago and Newcastle University. The delegation also held talks with representatives of JNU’s New Zealand and Australian Alumni Associations.

On May 12, the delegation met with representatives of the New Zealand Alumni Association to discuss the development of enrollment sites in New Zealand; cooperation between the international Chinese education major and local Chinese schools; and the formation of a local Chinese textbook writing team.

The next morning, it visited the Auckland campus of Massey University and was greeted by Prof. Paul Spooney, vice president of the university. The delegation talked with the heads of the Humanities, Business and Food Engineering Colleges, reaching consensus on the joint training of master's and doctoral students in food safety.

The delegation also visited the University of Auckland's Maurice Wilkins Center.  During the visit to the international joint laboratory built by the center and JNU's College of Pharmacy and approved by the Ministry of Education. The delegation met with scientists to discuss research-and-development cooperation in such sectors as antineoplastics, antidiabetics and antituberculotics, and the plan for supporting exchanges of Ph.D. and post-doctoral students to do research and study. Prof. Ding Ke's team from JNU's College of Pharmacy worked with scientists from this center to obtain the first joint patent held by China and New Zealand.

（The JNU delegation and members of the Maurice Wilkins Center）

The delegation visited the University of Otago on May 14. Song and Prof. Helen Nicholson, the university's vice president for international cooperation affairs, signed a memorandum of cooperation to enhance high-level personnel training and exchanges between JNU's College of Pharmacy and Otago's School of Microbiology and Immunology. The delegation also visited the two universities’ joint laboratory and gave a lecture with teachers and students.

(Song signing a cooperation memorandum with Nicholson)

(Song inspecting JNU and the University of Otago`s joint laboratory )

The delegation visited Queensland University of Technology on May 16. After inspecting JNU-QUT`s Joint Laboratory of Air Quality Science and Management, delegation members met communicated with doctoral students and their tutors jointly trained by the two universities.

(The JNU delegation holding talks with QUT representatives)

On May 17 the delegation visited Newcastle University and signed a memorandum of cooperation with the university. The two sides discussed in depth their future cooperation in economics, business, the environment and other disciplines. They also proposed several feasible exchange plans.

At Western Sydney University, President Barney Glover Prof. Linda Taylor, vice president for international affairs, gave the delegation a warm welcome.

The delegation met with more than 30 Australian alumni representatives on May 18, discussing the establishment of a Chinese language proficiency testing center in Sydney and the training of Chinese language teachers.