Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

WITH Shenzhen’s Vice Mayor Wu Yihuan as a witness, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen signed cooperative deals with the University of Minnesota to set up a long-term collaboration relationship yesterday at Wuzhou Guest House.

“The University of Minnesota has tremendous strength in education and scientific research. The two universities will initiate in-depth collaboration such as “3+2” combined bachelor’s/master’s programs, teacher exchanges and post-doctoral joint training, with the intention of strengthening the interflow of the two universities and promoting the development of intercollegiate and inter-regional flow of talents, academic exchanges, and collaboration in scientific research,” said Xu Yangsheng, president of CUHK(SZ), during a welcoming speech.

“We will also develop joint research projects in fields such as environmental science, clean energy, data science, biomedical engineering and robots, and explore the possibility of broadening the scope of collaboration in education and scientific research,” Xu said.

Eric W. Kaler, president of the University of Minnesota, said: “I know Shenzhen has a vibrant economy and a rich culture of innovation. The Shenzhen city government is visionary in investing in higher education and advanced research to ensure the city’s long-term economic growth.”

“We spend about US$800 million every year on research on agriculture, medicine and a wide range of engineering including biological science. I can envision our partnership including the establishment of joint research between the two universities in environmental sciences, data sciences, advanced manufacturing and renewable energy environment,” he said.

Kaler said he anticipates more cooperation not only between the two universities, but also between Shenzhen and the U.S. state of Minnesota.