Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    UNIVERSITY of California, Berkeley of the United States is partnering with Tsinghua University to launch Tsinghua-UC Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, according to an agreement signed yesterday.

    The agreement is an addendum to a strategic partnership agreement signed by the two universities in 2012 and aims to develop research and education programs in Shenzhen.

    The institute will explore the areas of nanotechnology and nanomedicine, low-carbon and new-energy technologies, data science and the next-generation Internet.

    It is expected to be launched before the end of 2014 and doctoral students will be enrolled by the institute in 2015, with master’s students beginning in 2016.

    The institute will recruit top researchers globally and conduct innovative, cutting-edge research with active participation by graduate students.

    Nicholas Dirks, president of UC Berkeley, was impressed with Shenzhen’s achievements in the past 34 years on his first trip to the city. He said the research programs will enable UC Berkeley and Tsinghua graduate students to spend time at the institute for up to one year of research or study. Participating UC Berkeley graduate students will be able to study at Tsinghua University or hold internships with companies in Shenzhen, gaining international experience. Similarly, participating Tsinghua students will benefit from joint research supervision by UC Berkeley and Tsinghua faculty.