Zhang Qian, Liu Shiyang

    zhqcindy@163.com

    A LIAISON office of Hanyang University ERICA Campus in South Korea was set up at Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-SZ) yesterday afternoon in Longgang District, with a memorandum of understanding promising further cooperation between the two universities.

    The setting up of the liaison office was ERICA Campus’ response to CUHK-SZ’s opening of an office at the South Korean university earlier in November this year.

    “The setting up of the liaison office is to help and facilitate the exchange of personnel experiences and practices between the two universities as well as to further connect the two cities’ industrial cooperation through research programs,” said Xu Yangsheng, president of CUHK-SZ, during the signing ceremony yesterday.

    According to Lee Jai-sung, executive vice president of Hanyang University ERICA Campus, the idea of forming a bilateral relationship between the two universities was initiated by Joseph J.Y. Sung, president of Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    “Professor Sung visited our campus last year and suggested that CUHK-SZ and ERICA Campus work together to enhance the ties of personnel exchange and industrial academic research, because both Shenzhen and Ansan (where the campus is located) are fast-growing high-tech cities in their own countries,” said Lee.

    After an eight-month effort, the two universities set up offices on each other’s respective campuses, with the common goal of cultivating students in both traditional Asian cultures and advanced Western technologies.

    “The two universities are much alike in many ways, such as valuing our students’ well-rounded development and academic research, so we believe that the outcome will be exceptional,” added Lee.

    Acting as one of the pioneers of higher education in China, CUHK-SZ attaches great importance to international programs. Over the past few years since it was established, the university has signed on for nearly 50 exchange programs with over 30 overseas universities.

    In the summer vacation of 2015 and 2016, the university organized more than 400 students to attend summer courses at 10 top universities around the world, including Cambridge University, Duke University, London School of Economics and Political Science and the like.

    This fall, CUHK-SZ’s first batch of 67 students began one-semester exchange programs at overseas universities, and the university also received its first group of exchange students.