XMU celebrates Newcastle University Day
On December 4, the Newcastle University Day kicked off at Xiamen University. Present at the opening ceremony were leaders of both Xiamen University and Newcastle University (NU), including Chris Day, president of NU, Richard Davies, vice president of NU who is in charge of international affairs, Alex Metcalfe, chief of the NU international division, Zhang Rong, president of XMU, Wu Daguang, vice president of XMU, Zhan Xin-li, vice president of XMU, Tan Shao-bing, assistant president and chief of the XMU international division as well as the deans of NU Confucius Institute, other officials and the representatives on behalf of teachers and students.
The ceremony began with the folk music performance by artists from both universities.
XMU President Zhang Rong first extended a warm welcome to the British friends from afar and reviewed the course of cooperation between XMU and NU. He said that NU is one of the most important and closest partners of XMU. The two schools first established ties back in 2006. In recent years XMU and NU have deepened their cooperation and worked together in multiple fields, including scientific research, academic discussions, exchanges of teachers and students, and the joint establishment of Confucius Institute. The Newcastle University Day has opened a new portal for further cooperation between the two sides. He added that with the joint efforts of both schools, the cooperation between XMU and NU would usher in a more vigorous decade.
NU President Chris Day stated in his speech that he highly valued the visit and hoped to enhance further cooperation with XMU in more fields. Besides, he emphatically introduced the latest achievements NU has made in the fields of city planning, art, culture, etc in recent years.
On behalf of XMU and NU, the presidents signed a new round of cooperation agreements at the opening ceremony. According to the agreement, the two schools will continue to strengthen their partnership in such areas as the construction of Confucius Institute, student exchange, scientific and academic research, etc.
After the opening ceremony, NU delegation split up into four groups and went separate ways to meet and discuss with their counterparts of XMU on such issues as international cooperation and exchange, architecture, civil engineering, arts, foreign languages studies.
In the evening, the students from the art colleges of the two universities performed together on the stage, presenting a wonderful performance featuring traditional musical instruments of both countries.
On the morning of December 5, NU Confucius Institute Council Meeting took place in the administrative building. The meeting reviewed the annual reports and made detailed plans for future work.
Newcastle University, as a Russell Group member, has long been regarded as one of the top 20 universities and one of the most prestigious ones in the UK. XMU and NU signed a cooperation agreement in 2012. On May 18, 2013, the NU Confucius Institute was jointly founded by NU, XMU and the Office of Chinese Language Council International. In November of the same year, the two schools agreed to establish a seed fund of two million US dollars for the joint research in 7 thematic areas. In the summer of 2016, XMU selected 27 of its administrators to attend a one-month training program at NU. In the summer of 2017, XMU once again selected 30 administrators and 29 school counselors to study at NU for one month.
Up to now, XMU has sent 23 exchange students to NU. Meanwhile, we have also accepted a total of 6 students from NU, most of whom are with Overseas Education College and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
Edited by Wu Qianyi
Source: http://news.xmu.edu.cn/e0/b5/c1552a319669/page.htm
