From April 23^rd to 29^th, Prof. ZHANG Weidong, Vice President of USTB, led a delegation to visit the United Kingdom and Ireland, met with officials of universities and colleges, and conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on talent cultivation, scientific research cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and other aspects.

The visit to the University of Birmingham

On April 23^rd, Prof. ZHANG Weidong and the delegation were invited to visit the University of Birmingham for communication and exchange. At the meeting, Prof. ZHANG Weidong reviewed the history of cooperation and achievements between USTB and Birmingham; Prof. Jon Frampton, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of Birmingham, said that they wish to explore the possibility and other deep-level cooperation on the basis of deepening existing cooperative projects.

The visit to the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Manchester

The visit to the Materials Performance Centre of the University of Manchester

On the morning of April 25^th, the delegation was invited to visit the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Manchester for communication and exchange. In the afternoon, the delegation had a discussion with representatives of the Materials Performance Centre of the University of Manchester. In this symposium, the two sides had an in-depth exchange of talent cultivation in the materials discipline, scientific research cooperation, and other aspects.

The visit to the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy at University of Cambridge

On the morning of April 26^th, the delegation visited the University of Cambridge and held a symposium with academician Prof. Ruth Cameron and Prof. Jason Robinson, two co-directors from the Cambridge Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy. During the symposium, the two sides reached a consensus of carrying out visits between teachers and students as well as scientific cooperation. In the afternoon, Prof. ZHANG Weidong met Prof. Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and met with representatives from the Judge Business School, Cambridge University to discuss scientific research cooperation of Carbon emission management and other aspects between the two universities.

The visit to the Judge Business School

On the morning of April 26^th, the delegation visited the University of Cambridge and held a symposium with academician Prof. Ruth Cameron and Prof. Jason Robinson, two co-directors from the Cambridge Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy. During the symposium, the two sides reached a consensus of carrying out visits between teachers and students as well as scientific cooperation. In the afternoon, Prof. ZHANG Weidong met Prof. Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and met with representatives from the Judge Business School, Cambridge University, to discuss scientific research cooperation of Carbon emission management and other aspects between the two universities.

On April 28^th, the delegation met with Dr. Stephen F. Tate, President of the Institute of Corrosion, Dr. Yunnan Gao, Vice President of the Institute of Corrosion, and their crew. The two sides exchanged their ideas and reached the intention of cooperation in promoting academic exchanges between China and the UK in the field of materials corrosion.

The visit to the Trinity College Dublin

On April 29th, the delegation arrived in Ireland and was invited to visit Trinity College Dublin. During the symposium, the two sides exchanged views on student exchange programs between the two universities and other things. The two sides explored the model of student program cooperation and broadened other aspects of cooperation. Prof. Kate Maguire, Director of the Global Cooperation Office at Trinity College Dublin said that the cooperation with USTB is sincere and practical, and the exchange students selected by USTB performed well in all aspects. Prof. Maguire said that Trinity College Dublin will actively promote student exchange programs to deepen cooperation with USTB.

This university-level trip to the UK and Ireland conducted discussions regarding student exchange, scientific research cooperation, the intention of Chinese-foreign cooperative education with world-class universities, efforts were made to build a high-level platform, gave full play to the advantages of higher education, and actively participated in international educational exchange and cooperation with a more open attitude.

2024 is the "Year of Internationalization" for USTB; the university will comprehensively promote the construction of three international projects: the "Seed Project," the "Bridge Project," and the "Amity Project," strengthening connections with our overseas partners.

Draft: LU Chengcheng

Revision: CHENG Mingyuan