From November 5 to 6, the High Quality Development Conference for the 10th Anniversary of Yanshan University-Curtin University Cooperation was grandly held at YSU. Under the theme of "A Cornerstone Settled by a Decade's Endeavor and a New Chapter Opened by Joint Efforts", this conference focused on four key topics—"Forging Ahead for a Shared Future", "A Decade of Hard Work Contributing to a New Chapter", "Cultural Fusion and Lasting Friendship", and "Exploring the Unknown at Academic Frontiers". The Conference aimed to comprehensively summarize the remarkable achievements of YSU and Curtin University (CU) over the past decade of cooperation in education, faculty development, and the training of international talents. It was also designed as a platform for YSU and CU to together look forward to a new chapter of cooperation that promotes their high-quality development and paves the way for a brighter future. The Conference was hosted by YSU, undertaken by the School of International Education (YSU European Institute), the School of Economics and Management, and the School of Electrical Engineering, and co-hosted by the Office of International Cooperation, the School of Arts and Design, the School of Information Science and Engineering (School of Software) and the School of Science.
Zhao Xianfeng, Secretary of the CPC YSU Committee, Zhao Dingxuan, Deputy Secretary of the CPC YSU Committee and YSU President, and Chen Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC YSU Committee and YSU Vice President, attended the series activities of the Conference. Over 800 individuals participated in the series activities, including a 10-member delegation featuring Matthew Tonts, CU Provost, Zhang Xiaotian, CU Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global, Mark Ogden, CU Pro Vice-Chancellor, and relevant personnel; heads from YSU relevant functional departments and schools; and representatives of YSU faculty members and students. Chen Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC YSU Committee and YSU Vice President, presided over the opening ceremony.
Zhao Xianfeng delivers a speech
Zhao Xianfeng gave remarks at the opening ceremony, highly praising the incredible achievements made by the two universities in the past decade of collaboration. He emphasized that both institutions have profoundly integrated higher education resources in an open and inclusive manner. Zhao also said collaboration has led to fruitful results in talent training, joint scientific research, and faculty exchanges, ultimately contributing to the development of talents equipped with global insights and competitiveness. He expressed his hope that the two universities can leverage the strengths of their joint educational initiatives, expand their collaboration, and engage in mutually beneficial partnerships, elevating their cooperation to new heights and opening a new chapter in their collaboration.
Zhao Dingxuan and Matthew Tonts present the flags to alumni representatives
Chen Guoqiang presides over the opening ceremony
In his speech, Matthew Tonts emphasized that YSU is CU's most important partner, expressing strong optimism about the future of their cooperative education program. He anticipated enhanced cooperation with YSU, deeper engagement in talent training and faculty exchanges, and the development of scientific research platforms, thus empowering the next generation of ideologists, engineers, and innovators while cultivating more leaders with global competence.
Matthew Tonts delivers a speech
At the opening ceremony, the YSU-CU Cooperative Education Program Alumni Association was established. Zhao Dingxuan and Matthew Tonts presented the flags to alumni representatives. This milestone signified a new starting point for the universities as they joined hands, marking the beginning of a deeper and broader phase of cooperation and the creation of a more brilliant future.
During the Conference, both sides renewed and signed a series of agreements aimed at expanding their fields of cooperation, including a master agreement on Sino-foreign education cooperation and a credit recognition agreement. After the opening ceremony, attendees visited the exhibition of talent cultivation achievements commemorating the 10th anniversary of the cooperative education program.
Attendees visit the exhibition of talent cultivation achievements
Attendees from both sides collaboratively reflected on the milestones and accomplishments of their ten-year partnership during the cooperative education program review and partner program promotion sessions at the Conference. They also summarized and analyzed the pain points and challenges encountered during the implementation of two existing programs, and proposed solutions, offering valuable insights and reference for new programs.
On the evening of November 5, the Art Exhibition and Awarding Ceremony of the Conference took place at the Concert Hall on YSU's West Campus. Li Chunling, Dean of YSU School of Economics and Management, Jing Kunpeng, Vice Dean of the School, Xu Liang and Zhang Xu, cooperative education program leaders of the School, Guo Xiaoqiang, Vice Dean of YSU School of Electrical Engineering, Qu Zhengwei and Zhang Di, cooperative education program leaders of the School, earned the Outstanding Contribution Awards. Zhang Wenli, Dean of YSU School of International Education (YSU European Institute), won the Remarkable Contribution Awards. Zhao Xianfeng, Matthew Tonts, Chen Guoqiang and Zhang Xiaotian gave out awards.
Awarding Ceremony of CU's Outstanding Contribution Awards
Awarding Ceremony of YSU's Outstanding Contribution Awards
Awarding Ceremony of Remarkable Contribution Awards
On the morning of November 6, the Conference successfully concluded with an academic research forum. The forum featured a diverse array of topics, including discussions on academic frontiers, scientific research cooperation, innovative talent training patterns, and student experience sharing. It provided new ideas and directions for the future cooperation between YSU and CU, and fostered a strong atmosphere for academic research.
Approved by China's Ministry of Education, the YSU-CU Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Program and Electrical Engineering Graduate Program were established in 2014, and have successfully run for a decade. The Conference reviewed the milestones achieved through the two institutions' cooperation in education over the past ten years. Looking ahead, the event also mapped out plans and a vision for the high-quality development of programs in the decade to come. YSU will continue leveraging its unique strengths in international cooperation and exchanges to establish a more robust landscape for cultivating global talents. By facilitating better joint educational initiatives between YSU and foreign universities, YSU aims to accelerate its internationalization efforts.
