Peking University, April 10, 2023: A delegation led by Gong Qihuang, president of Peking University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), visited Hungary, Germany, and Austria from March 30 to April 8, 2023. The delegation visited five universities and three research institutions; the members also met with Qi Mei, the Chinese Ambassador to Austria, and participated in alumni activities.
Visiting the strategic partners
On March 30, Gong held a meeting with László BORHY, the president of Eötvös Loránd University, to finalize a student exchange agreement between the two institutions. This agreement marks a significant milestone in fostering cultural exchanges between Chinese and Hungarian youth. Additionally, President Borphy proposed potential collaborations in areas such as Chinese language instruction, history, and digital education.
Gong Qihuang and László BORHY
While visiting Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LUM), Gong held a meeting with President Bernd Huber to discuss their previous collaborations. In light of PKU’s “Global Engagement Year,” Gong expressed the University’s commitment to enhancing its partnership with LUM in various fields, such as public health, artificial intelligence, and environmental studies.
Group photo at LUM
During his visit to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), Gong met with HU President Julia von Blumenthal to discuss future collaborations. They both agreed that the two universities would maintain their cooperation in areas such as area studies, summer schools, and joint doctoral programs. Gong also extended an invitation to the physicists at HU to give lectures at PKU during the summer and expressed his enthusiasm for further exchanges between the two institutions.
Group photo at HU
While visiting the Freie Universität Berlin (FU), Gong held a meeting with FU President Günter M. Ziegler. Gong emphasized that PKU and FU, as strategic partners, have had extensive exchanges and collaborations in various fields, including area studies and sustainable campuses. Ziegler, in turn, provided an overview of FU's development history and expressed interest in cooperating with PKU in areas such as artificial intelligence, mathematics, neuroscience, and environmental science. During their visit, the PKU delegation also visited the Confucius Institute at FU and received a work briefing from the institute.
Group photo at FU
At the University of Vienna (UNIVIE), President Gong, accompanied by Ambassador Qi Mei, met with UNIVIE President Sebastian Schütze. Both sides expressed their hope to deepen the two universities’ relationship in areas of mutual interest. Gong invited renowned scholars from UNIVIE to participate in academic platforms such as the Beijing Forum to consolidate the strategic cooperation between the two universities.
Gong Qihuang, Ambassador Qi Mei and Sebastian Schütze (seen from left)
Visiting world-class research institutions
On March 31, during the delegation’s visit to the Extreme Light Infrastructure Attosecond Light Pulse Source (ELI-ALPS), Gong held a talk with Zsolt Fülöp, the project’s Chief Coordination Officer. Gong stressed that the construction of ELI-ALPS could provide valuable experience for PKU to draw on to build its own large-scale scientific facilities and expressed the hope that the two sides would carry out in-depth cooperation in the joint training of doctors and postdoctoral fellows. The two sides also conducted in-depth discussions on further strengthening scientific research cooperation in the academic field.
Group photo at ELI-ALPS
On April 3, President Gong met with Katja Becker, chairman of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG). During the meeting, Gong highlighted that Germany stands as one of the countries that enjoy the most in-depth scientific research cooperation with PKU. Becker reviewed the foundation’s existing cooperation with China and expressed his anticipation to see a widened and deepened Sino-German scientific cooperation.
Gong Qihuang and Katja Becker
On April 6, the delegation visited the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and President Gong met with Wolfgang Lutz, the Deputy Director-General of Science at the Institute. IIASA is one of the most important partners of PKU in Austria, and both sides have achieved fruitful results in their joint doctoral program, which has cultivated 17 outstanding young scholars. Gong thanked IIASA for its support and proposed the promotion of joint postdoctoral projects in climate change, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, etc.
Gong Qihuang and Wolfgang Lutz
Group photo at the Chinese Embassy in Austria
In Austria, PKU’s delegation also visited the Chinese Embassy in Austria, at which President Gong held talks with Ambassador Qi Mei on science diplomacy, basic science research and exchanges among think tanks. The ambassador expressed her willingness to fully support the cooperation between China and Austria in the field of science and education, and promote the opening up of higher education.
Group photo with members of the Peking University Alumni Association in Germany
During the delegation's visit to Europe, the Peking University Alumni Association in Germany kicked off its first activity after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gong joined the event and talked with PKU alumni representatives from all over Germany. The alumni expressed their affection for their alma mater and the motherland, shared their care for the development of Peking University, and provided valuable suggestions for the future development of the School and its international exchange work.
The delegation's visit to Europe serves as a crucial component of PKU's Global Engagement Year, enhancing the friendly relationship between PKU and top European universities and research institutions.
Written by: Fu Jiaqi
Edited by: Dennis Meng
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
