Peking University, February 8, 2025: A delegation led by Peking University President Gong Qihuang visited Switzerland and France from January 17 to 22, 2025, where they respectively attended the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) Presidents' Annual Meeting and the World Economic Forum's Global University Leaders Forum (WEF-GULF), as well as visited Thales Group, a French tech conglomerate.
IARU was founded in 2006 jointly by world-class research universities such as Peking University and Oxford University to address global challenges through interdisciplinary research, academic exchange, and resource sharing, and has achieved significant results in sustainability, global health, and AI.
This year’s IARU Presidents' Annual Meeting was held at ETH Zurich from January 18 to 19, during which Gong shared Peking University's innovations in new engineering disciplines, "dual carbon" research, and AI, advocating deeper interdisciplinary collaboration and enhanced faculty and student exchanges. The meeting concluded with a unanimous decision to have Peking University host the next IARU secretariat.
Scene of the IARU Presidents' Annual Meeting
The following day, Gong visited the Thales Group in France, where he discussed with Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist Marko Erman on the Laser-Driven Multi-Beam Facility project, which was signed under the witness of Chinese and French heads of state, emphasizing the project's significance in leveraging Thales' expertise in high-power laser systems to aid China's science infrastructure. Both parties agreed to further their cooperation to make more progress in laser technology and other areas.
Visit to Thales Group in France
During the World Economic Forum 2025 held in Davos from January 20 to 24, which attracted nearly 3,000 delegates from over 130 countries, Gong shared with presidents of universities from multiple countries Peking University's advancements in academic research, global governance, and sustainability, and proposed stronger university collaborations to underpin youth leadership projects and tackle global challenges.
The 2025 visit, part of Peking University's effort to solidify ties with top global universities and key partners, has seen deeper cooperation fostered from a series of forums and meetings.
Going forward, the university remains committed to educational openness, driving high-quality development through collaboration to build a more integrated global higher education landscape.
Written by: Wang Mengjiao
Edited by: Chen Shizhuo
Source: Peking University (
Chinese)
