From July 2nd to 8th, Zhang Lifeng, President of NCUT, led a delegation to visit universities in France and Germany, including Brest Business School, JUNIA Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Lorraine in France, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and the Institute for Production Engineering and Forming Machines at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
On July 3, the delegation visited the Brest Business School Paris campus. The school is one of the earliest elite schools to implement the “apprenticeship”teaching model, and often ranks in the top three of French business schools in terms of school enterprise relations and apprenticeship. NCUT delegation had a meeting with the principal of the school, Shen Dai, a French-Chinese educator, and both sides gave an brief introduction of their respective institutions and gave an overview of their recent development. They also had in-depth exchanges on the future cooperation between the two universities and the business community, the combination of electronic information, electrical and Control engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and other disciplines and management disciplines, high-end management training, short-term exchange programs, the future cooperation will be around these fields and forms.
On July 4th, the delegation visited the JUNIA Graduate School of Science and Engineering. The school was formed by the merger of the Lille Higher School of Electronics and Digital Engineering, the French Institute of Advanced Engineers, and the Lille Higher School of Agriculture. It ranked 11th in the French Academy of Engineers ranking for two consecutive years. Florence MALAISE, the head of international cooperation office, and Joop LENSINK, the head of graduate projects, provided detailed introductions on the majors of general engineering, electronic information engineering , and international cooperation and exchange of the school. During the visit, Zhang Lifeng had an in-depth communication with the leaders of the two schools on joint training and other programs, and put forward constructive suggestions on how to carry out cooperative education and cultivate outstanding engineers. The delegation visited the electronic laboratory, mechanical laboratory, thermal mechanics laboratory, 3D printing laboratory, and conducted on-site visit to get to know the education and teaching environment and conditions of JUNIA Higher Engineering College, laying a solid foundation for further promoting the 3.5+0.5+2 joint training master's degree and teacher exchange programs in disciplines such as electronic information and civil engineering.
On July 5, the delegation visited the University of Lorraine, which is one of the famous comprehensive universities in France, renowned for its outstanding education and research in fields such as engineering, science, and medicine.Both sides introduced the development of education, scientific research and disciplines setup of the two universities with the participation of Professor Hu Guohua, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, head of relevant schools and laboratories of University of Lorraine, and had discussions on substantive programs such as promoting academic and scientific research exchanges between faculties of the two universities and jointly cultivating students. After the meeting, the delegation visited the Institute Jean Lamour laboratory, which focuses on materials science and engineering. The delegation also had exchanges on scientific research with the academic team of Professor Jean Pierre BELLOT of the laboratory, and reached a preliminary consensus on sending visiting scholar and jointly cultivating doctoral students. As a public university in France, University of Lorraine provides high-quality learning resources for students and has set up one-year master's degree programs in English. The two universities will further implement substantive cooperation such as programs of exchange students and dual degrees.
On July 6th, the delegation participated in the 9th World Materials Forum. Zhang Lifeng gave a speech at the plenary meeting under the theme of “Carbon Reduction in the Steel Industry”, introducing how the steel industry can better achieve the “dual carbon”goals and achieve carbon neutrality and coordinated economic development through technological innovation in the context of China's “3060”and “dual carbon” initiative. This forum invites a certain number of multinational company chairmen, technical directors, and renowned scholars to participate in discussions and exchanges on global issues, hence it is known as the Davos in the field of materials. This is the first time that Chinese scholar has addressed the conference. The forum covered global issues related to materials, especially key materials, steel carbon emission reduction, building materials, Electric vehicle battery, bio based materials, electronic product recycling, scope three emissions, and sustainable metallurgical technology. During the forum, President Zhang Lifeng had extensive exchanges and discussions with invited participants from all countries.
On July 7, the delegation visited Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. The university is one of the largest University of Applied Sciences in Germany. It enjoys a high reputation for its practical teaching and solid scientific knowledge foundation of students. Arnd Steinmetz, the president of the university, introduced the current situation and future development plan of the university, and Zhang Lifeng introduced the school running characteristics and international cooperation of North China University of Technology. The delegation visited the laboratories of the College of Plastics engineering and the College of Electrical and Information Technology. Both sides jointly reviewed the cooperation between the two universities and conducted in-depth exchanges on their future cooperation. They hope to carry out comprehensive cooperation in teacher-student and academic exchanges in various disciplines, opening a new chapter in cooperation and exchange between the two universities.
On July 8, the delegation visited the Institute of Manufacturing Engineering and Forming Equipment of Technical University of Darmstadt., which is a famous German university of science and engineering, a member of the TU9（Technische Universitäten 9）of German excellent technical universities, and the Institute for Production Engineering and Forming Machines is its research institute. The delegation had an in-depth exchange with Professor Peter Groche, a member of the German National Academy of Sciences and Engineering, who is in charge of the Manufacturing Engineering and Forming Equipment Research Institute, on the cutting-edge academic technologies of intelligent forming manufacturing. They visited the Institute's Smart Forming Center. Both sides reviewed the cooperation between the R&D teams of the two universities in the field of roll forming, and clarified that the two universities will continue to carry out in-depth cooperation between teachers, students, and scientific research in the field of roll forming.
The visit has further strengthened the international exchanges and cooperation between our university and prestigious universities in France and Germany, and played a positive role in solidly promoting our university's strategy of open education and internationalization. It demonstrates our university's determination and direction in promoting internationalization. By collaborating with high-level universities abroad, we aim to enhance the international influence of our teaching and research teams and academic disciplines, laying a solid foundation for high-level cooperation between our university and overseas institutions in the post-pandemic era. This visit has further consolidated and expanded our university's international cooperation network, supporting the high-quality internationalization of disciplines and the high-level openness of our university to the outside world.
