Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the morning of October 13, a delegation led by Prof. Ian O’Connor, Vice Chancellor & President of Griffith University, visited SYSU. Members of the delegation also included Professor Sarah Todd, Pro Vice Chancellor (International); Professor Zhihong Xu, Director of Environmental Futures Research Institution; Professor Cordia Chu, Director of Centre for Environment and Population Health; Dr. Jeremy Brownlie, Deputy Head of School of Natural Sciences; and Mr. Thomas Toh, Regional Director of International Marketing. Prof. Wei Minghai, Vice President of SYSU, met with the guests.

Vice President Wei Minghai extended a warm welcome to the delegation. He introduced SYSU’s international cooperation, and hoped that the two universities could deepen collaborations in research and education.

Vice Chancellor & President Ian O’Connor said that he was pleased to visit SYSU again this year. New progress has been made in the cooperation between the two universities since his last visit in March. He hoped to use the “New Colombo Plan” of the Australian government to encourage more Griffith students to come to SYSU for exchange study. The two sides agreed to further implement projects in student joint program, student exchange and research cooperation.

Prof. Qiu Rongliang, Dean of School of Environmental Science and Engineering; Prof. Hao Yuantao, Dean of School of Public Health; and Ms. Xu Yao, Deputy Director of Office of International Cooperation & Exchange, were present at the meeting.

After the meeting, the two universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Australia-China Centre for Environmental Quality and Sustainability (ACCEQS) and Joint Cooperation in Food Security. The School of Environmental Science and Engineering at SYSU and the School of Natural Sciences at Griffith University will jointly establish ACCEQS to conduct talent training and research cooperation.

On the same day, members of the delegation respectively held a meeting with representatives from School of Environmental Sciences and Engineering as well as School of Public Health.

Sun Yat-sen University and Griffith University started cooperation in the 1980s. The two universities signed collaboration agreements in civil engineering, public health and plant drug research, and conducted various exchange and cooperation in education and scientific research. During Vice Chancellor & President Ian O’Connor’s visit in March, 2014, the two universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding. In September, the two universities signed a cooperative agreement on faculty and student exchange, and planned to start student exchanges at the university level next year.