On September 23rd, Andrea Nolan, President of Edinburgh Napier University (EPU, UK), and Naomi Graham, Vice President, visited SHNU. (The) SHNU President Yuan Wen received the guests, accompanied by Vice President Jiang Mingjun, and representatives from the SHNU International Exchange Office, and relevant personnel from the School of Civil Engineering.
Yuan Wen first extended a warm welcome to President Andrea Nolan and her delegation, and reviewed the 17-year cooperation history and outstanding achievements made in talent cultivation between the two universities. She emphasized that both the university and the School of Civil Engineering are currently facing excellent development opportunities. The Chinese and British sides should further expand the scope of cooperation and strive to make breakthroughs in jointly creating an international innovation center, strengthening joint training for graduate students, and deepening cooperation in scientific research between teachers. President Nolan recounted the fond memories of attending the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Sino-foreign cooperation in civil engineering at our university last time and gave a positive response to the suggestions put forward by President Yuan Wen.
In the afternoon, President Nolan attended the welcome party for the 2024 freshmen of the Civil Engineering program, a collaborative education program between SHNU and Edinburgh Napier University.
Since the launch of SHNU cooperative education program with Edinburgh Napier University in 2007, 303 outstanding students have gone to study in the UK, among whom 96 have obtained first-class honorary degrees, and more than half of the graduates have continued their studies in renowned institutions such as Imperial College London and University College London after graduating from undergraduate programs. This visit is not only a testimony to the friendship between the two universities, but also a further deepening of cooperation in the field of international education.