On July 16, President Sotir Sotirov of Burgas State University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” and his delegation visited SUES. Vice President Xia Chunming met with the guests on Songjiang campus. Leaders and faculty representatives from the International Office, College of International Education, School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering attended the meeting.
Xia Chunming warmly welcomed Sotir Sotirov and his delegation and introduced SUES’ history and characteristics. He noted that the two universities share strengths in fields such as computer science, chemistry, and digital technologies, and proposed three areas for cooperation: first, deepen collaboration in strong disciplines and actively promote faculty exchanges and international academic interactions; second, strengthen the cultivation of international talents and expand student exchange programs; third, advance digitalization in education by sharing experiences and jointly exploring smart campus initiatives, digital education, and AI-enabled solutions.
Sotir Sotirov appreciated SUES for the warm reception. He introduced Burgas State University as the only public university in southeastern Bulgaria, founded in 1963, comprising five faculties including technical sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences, with solid foundations in chemical engineering and computer technologies. He expressed strong appreciation for SUES’ applied innovation philosophy and conveyed a willingness to pursue deep cooperation in faculty and student exchanges, joint research, and degree programs.
During the meeting, both sides discussed further collaboration possibilities in specialties such as chemical engineering and computer science, and reached intentions to cooperate on joint faculty research and short-term student exchanges.
During the visit, Sotir Sotirov and his delegation toured SUES’ Boeing 737-800 simulator project and the 5G + AI Applied Joint Innovation Laboratory to learn firsthand about the University’s achievements in industry–education integration and applied innovation. Both parties agreed to use this visit as a starting point to actively advance concrete cooperation projects such as faculty and student exchanges, and to jointly promote cultural exchange and educational innovation between China and Bulgaria.
