President Zhang Jie Visits K.U. Leuven

On the afternoon of April 17, 2012, President Zhang Jie visited Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven) in Belgium and had a meeting with Prof. Mark Waer, Rector of K.U. Leuven. They signed a memorandum of understanding to further the strategic partnership under the framework of Sino-Euro cultural exchange. Director of Institute for Advanced Study in European Culture Gao Xuanyang, Vice Dean of School of International Education Xu Min and Prof. Xu Jianping from School of Humanities attended the signing ceremony.

Invited by K.U. Leuven, State Councilor Liu Yandong and the delegation led by Zhang Jie attended the welcoming ceremony held in the hall of its ancient central library. Liu Yandong announced that the number of scholarships made available for KU Leuven students of sinology wishing to study in China is being doubled to 25 to promote the exchange between two countries.

As the special guest, President Zhang Jie participated in the seminar on the cooperation between KU Leuven and Chinese Universities and introduced how SJTU as a famous research-intensive university contributes to the regional and national economic development and how SJTU deepens cooperation programs with universities overseas.

KU Leuven is the most ancient university in Belgium and one of the world-class universities. CAS Member Xu Zuyao of SJTU was a former student of KU Leuven. Besides, SJTU School of Medicine has established long-term cooperative connection with School of Medicine of UCL. In October, 2012, Rector and Vice Rector of KU Leuven will visit SJTU and attend the KU Leuven Day held by SJTU.