A delegation led by Stefania Giannini, the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research, visited Tongji University and were welcomed by the Chairman of Tongji University Council, Yang Xianjin, and the Vice Chairman, Fang Shouen, on Nov. 11th, 2015. They visited the celebration exhibition of Tongji-Italy cooperation and attend the fifth meeting of Tongji Sino-Italian Strategy Advisory Council.
The attendants included Beltrame (consul general of Italian consulate in Shanghai), Benedetti (diplomatic advisor of minister), Massari (commercial counsellor of Italian Embassy in China), Gilli (principal of Politecnico di Torino), Noci (vice principal of Politecnico di Milano), De Stefano (deputy consul general of Italian consulate in Shanghai), Paolo Maria Reale (principal of Convitto Nazionale), and the heads of College of Civil Engineering, College of Electronics and Information Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Sino-Italian Campus and College of Architecture and Urban Planning from Tongji University.
Giannini came to the Architectural Design and Research Institute accompanied by representatives from Tongji and enjoyed the exhibition which celebrated the ninth anniversary of the Sino-Italian Campus and another special exhibition of Sino-Italian Design and Innovation Best Practice. The minister during her visit had a chance to discussion about innovative education, technology transfer, along with the proposal to strengthen further collaboration between Italy and Tongji University. Speaking of the Italian visit in this September, Yang Xianjin specifically mentioned the significant roles played by Florence Campus of Tongji University and the Confucius Institute of Università degli Studi di Firenze in the collaboration. The Sino-Italian Sustainability Center and Intellectual Property Research and Cooperation Platform are now under construction, which will be an important bridge across university, enterprise and institution. Giannini said this was her second time visiting Tongji University and last time was in 2006, when she gladly witnessed the birth of Sino-Italy Campus. The Italian minister declared she was looking forward to celebrate its successful Tenth Anniversary next year. To her perspective, Tongji University perfectly presented the cooperation among government, company, university and research institute, which would lead to innovation in field of education and research to effectively keep sustainable development between China and Italy. She suggested both sides should keep exploring more opportunities to cooperate efficiently in the area of art consistently with what Fang Shouen expressed in the meeting. The undergraduate double degree has been a particular feature of the cooperation for years, which is also the basis of post-graduate and doctoral exchanges. In the context of new international education, more fresh air and various innovative modes of collaboration would be expected, and it would be appreciated if Italian government and Education and Research Ministry would continuously support the program as they always do.
On the same day, Giannini also participated in the fifth meeting of Tongji Sino-Italian Strategy Advisory Council with other attendants. Fang Shouen, first of all, reviewed the work of Tongji University for Italy in 2015, especially the classic case of in-depth cooperation between Tongji University and Huawei Honor Company during Milan Expo. Project leader of Tongji Academy of Science and Technology introduced the International Earthquake Engineering Program from the perspective of joint scientific research, which was co-established by Italy Technology Transfer Center (ITTTC), Sino-Italy Robotics and Automation Lab of Tongji and Bologna University, and European Earthquake Engineering Research Center etc. Roberto Donà, the representative of Association of Professors and Researchers in Shanghai and Eastern China briefed on the scientific research activities carried out by Italy in China, and sent invitations to the present representatives from universities or companies for future cooperation. As president of CNH Industrial Group in China, Luca Biagini attached high expectations to the future cooperation between companies and universities, when talking about donating Tongji two Curso9 Engines for joint research.
Minister Giannini made a concluding speech for the strategic Advisory Council. She declared that was a delight to see the fruitful cooperation results by China and Italy. In regard on how to enhance the core competitiveness of China, she suggested that each unit should be innovative, and active in exploring new forms of teaching. In addition, since education is one of the backbones of Italy's development, the full range of cooperation programs for internationalized curriculum will carry weight in the future. She warmly gave student the words as a present: "STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH" "BE OPEN TO NEW IDEAS, TO NEW WORLD".
Finally, Giannini personally awarded diplomas to graduates from the program of Double Master's Degree in Design issued by Tongji University and Milan Polytechnic. During the visit, representatives of teachers and students in Shanghai gathered in Tongji University, and had the chance to meet and interact face to face with the Minister.
Translated by May Language Studio Based upon
http://news.tongji.edu.cn/classid-9-newsid-49322-t-show.html
