Recently USTB hosted the 2019 Beijing International Environmental Technology Conference (2019IETC) which was jointly organized by USTB, the Stuttgart Technology University of Applied Sciences, and supported by Tongji University, China Agricultural University, UPM Environment Engineering Project Management Consulting (Beijing) Co., the Nanjing Academy of Resource and Ecology, the National Environment and Energy International Cooperation Base, the German Society for Sustainable Biogas and Bioenergy Utilization and China University of Geosciences (Beijing). Attending the event were over 200 participants from 20 countries, including the United States, Germany, France and Thailand. Also in attendance at the opening ceremony of the conference were Prof. Yang Renshu, President of USTB, and Mr. Hou Xuesong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences. The conference was presided over by Prof. Li Zifu of USTB’s School of Energy and Environmental Engineering.

Prof. Yang Renshu delivered the opening speech of the conference where we welcomed the assemblage and gave a detailed account of USTB’s accomplishments in the fields of environmental and energy research, as well as its progress in its “double first-class” university construction strategy. He spoke of how USTB has promoted innovation-driven work, international partnerships, and expanding the scope of its programs in order to achieve its goal of becoming a world-renowned research institution.

Subsequently, Mr. Hou Xuesong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, and representatives from the Stuttgart Technology University of Applied Sciences, took turns speaking before the conference and expressing their optimism regarding its success.

Speech delivered by Mr. Hou Xuesong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences

Speech delivered by Mr. Gunther Geller, President of the German Ecological Engineering Society

Speech delivered by Prof. Slav W. Hermanowicz, University of California, Berkeley

Speech delivered by Prof. Wu Fengchang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

Those who attended and delivered keynote speeches at the conference included Prof. Wu Fengchang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Mr. Gunther Geller, President of the German Ecological Engineering Society, Prof. Slav W. Hermanowicz, University of California, Berkeley, Prof. Wei Yongjie, Chief Expert at the National Air Pollution Prevention and Control Research Center, and Director of the Department of Hygiene & Sanitation at the School of Public Health of Sun Yat-sen University, Prof. Lin Wei, Associate Dean of the School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Prof. Li Jianrong, Dean of the School of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Prof. Wang Bo, Beijing Institute of Technology, Prof. Wang Qiang, Associate Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, and Prof. Zhan Sihui, Deputy Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University.

Speech delivered by Prof. Xing Yi, Associate Dean of the School of Energy and Environmental Engineering.

The IETC is derived from the Sino-Germany-Poland Environmental Technology Conference and has been held six times. Of those times USTB hosted the conference in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016. Since its founding the IETC has attracted much international attention and has become a focal point for researchers to meet and discuss issues in the field of environmental engineering. At the conference there were 9 sub-forums to discuss issues including water and sewage treatment, industrial pollution control, the treatment and disposal of agricultural waste, heavy metal pollution control and restoration, solid waste treatment and resource utilization, nanomaterials and ecological sanitation. In addition there was a forum established for young scientists, with the conference offering an opportunity for researchers to discuss new cutting-edge technologies and research breakthroughs, as well as practical applications of theoretical research.