On August 29, the cooperation meeting and signing ceremony between SUES and University of Northern Iowa (UNI), USA was held at Conference Room 204 of the Administrative Building. Li Jiang, Secretary of the CPC SUES Committee, and Mark Nook, President of UNI attended the event, presided over by Xia Chunming, Vice President of SUES. The heads of the Party Committee Office, the International Office, School of Management Studies and the representatives of SUES visiting scholars participated in the activity.
Secretary Li Jiang extended a warm welcome to President Mark Nook and his delegation, and introduced to the guests the profile of SUES, the distinctive mode of co-operative education and the major achievements in recent years. He indicated that SUES is giving full play to the five functions of a modern university, and deeply implementing the three strategies of strengthening the university with talents, distinctive development and internationalization. It has invested in human and teaching resources for a long time in personnel training, scientific research and innovation, and international exchanges. It has made every effort to promote the application and construction of the doctoral institution and the doctoral programs, and to push the transformation and development of the university into a teaching and research university. He hoped that the two sides could create more development opportunities for faculty and students of the two universities in the wider international arena through deepening friendly cooperation.
President Mark Nook expressed his sincere gratitude for the warm reception of SUES and his appreciation for the characteristics of running the school and its educational achievements. He made an introduction on the development strategy of UNI to optimize the educational environment, encourage innovation, and empower students. The two sides have reached consensus on the missions of higher education endowed by the era and the purposes of running the school.
Vice President Xia Chunming expressed that over the years, the two universities have had frequent exchanges of faculty members and students, and close and stable high-level visits, forming a solid foundation for cooperation and profound friendship. This visit and renewal of the cooperation agreement are a new starting point for further deepening cooperation between the two sides, and the cooperation between the two universities will enter a new stage of more systematization and larger scale.
At the meeting, the two universities held the renewal ceremony of the International Cooperation and Exchange Agreement. The continuation of the partnership will build a broader academic exchange platform for faculty and students of the two universities, and promote the common development of both sides in teaching, scientific research and cultural exchanges. Zhou Jie, Secretary of the CPC Committee of School of Management Studies, reviewed the basic situation of the cooperation in the early stage; Qiu Menghua, Deputy Dean of School of Management Studies, introduced the cooperation situation and future prospects of the 2+2 dual degree program between the two sides; Zhang Zhongkui, a teacher from School of Foreign Languages, shared his experience of visiting UNI as the representative of SUES visiting scholars to UNI.
Before the meeting, President Mark Nook and his delegation visited the relevant laboratories and had an in-depth understanding of the teaching and scientific research of SUES. It is believed that with the joint efforts of both sides, the cooperation between the two universities will produce more substantive fruits and make positive contributions to the prosperity and development of higher education in China and the United States.
