On the morning of September 14, the signing ceremony for the cooperation framework agreement between SUES and Tongji University was held at the Sino-French Center on Tongji University’s Siping Campus. Attendees included Yang Jinlong, President of Tongji University and Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li Jiang, Secretary of the CPC SUES Committee; Lou Yongqi, President of SUES; Xia Chunming, Vice President of SUES; Feng Shijin, Assistant to the President of Tongji University and Dean of Research Institute of Science and Technology; as well as officials from relevant departments from both universities. The event was chaired by Li Xiangning, Vice President of Tongji University.
Yang Jinlong indicated that Tongji University and SUES have always aligned closely with the development of Shanghai, sharing highly compatible missions and distinctive disciplinary strengths, with broad prospects for cooperation. He emphasized that this agreement represents an important step by both universities to keep pace with trends in higher education and to better serve regional economic and social development. He expressed the hope that the two universities would further align with national strategic needs and Shanghai’s high-quality development, jointly support Shanghai’s Five-Center Initiative, explore new models for joint talent cultivation, deepen integration of industry, academia, research, and application, and promote scientific collaboration and technology transfer to provide strong intellectual support for regional growth.
Li Jiang, speaking on behalf of SUES, expressed sincere gratitude to Tongji University for its longstanding support. He emphasized that since its founding over 40 years ago, SUES has upheld the distinctive approach of university - enterprise cooperation and integration of industry - education, cultivating a large number of outstanding talents for Shanghai. Facing a new historical era and rare development opportunities, SUES will stay true to its founding mission, deepen comprehensive reforms, strengthen high-level development, and advance all undertakings toward high-quality development. He pledged SUES’ full support for comprehensive cooperation with Tongji University to raise the partnership to a new level.
With deep affection, Lou Yongqi recalled the profound friendship between the two universities and expressed high expectations for the new phase of collaboration. He stressed that SUES was established in step with Shanghai’s reform and opening-up, bearing the mission of becoming a pillar of Shanghai’s industrial development. Today, as SUES actively strives to build a world-class applied innovation university, he hopes that future cooperation with Tongji University will achieve complementarity along the innovation chain, in line with national needs, and will strengthen pragmatic collaboration in talent cultivation, research transformation, and discipline development. The goal is to comprehensively enhance SUES’ ability to serve and contribute, and to jointly advance Shanghai’s scientific innovation and industrial growth. Yang Jinlong and Lou Yongqi then signed the cooperation framework agreement on behalf of their respective universities.
After the ceremony, the SUES delegation visited Tongji University’s Smart Campus Decision-Making “Cockpit”. Looking ahead, SUES and Tongji University will adhere to the principle of “complementary strengths and collaborative development”, and deepen pragmatic cooperation in strategic planning, discipline construction, faculty cultivation, talent training, scientific innovation, and international exchange. Together, they aim to serve national strategies and regional economic and social development.