XDU Hosts the 10th Anniversary of Sino-British Joint Education Programme and High-Quality Development Conference

On 15 September, Xidian University (XDU) of China and Heriot-Watt University (HWU) of the UK jointly held a ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of their joint programme alongside the high-quality development conference in XDU’s north campus. XDU President Prof. Xinbo Gao, HWU Principal Prof. Richard Williams, Deputy Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Education Authority Mr. Haibo Wang, Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office Mr. Yong Huang, and Head of the Scottish Government Office at the British Embassy in China Ms. Catriona Radcliffe attended the conference and delivered addresses. The conference was chaired by Prof. Yulong Shen, XDU Director of the Division of International Cooperation and Exchanges.

Representatives attend the conference

XDU President Prof. Xinbo Gao in his address stated that the Sino-British collaborative joint programme represents not only a significant exploration of internationalised innovative talent cultivation, but also a vivid demonstration of cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and the West. He stated that XDU will continue to deepen the cooperation with HWU to actively integrate both universities into the Belt and Road Initiative. HWU Principal Prof. Richard Williams introduced the educational achievements of the joint programme over the past decade. Through enhanced outcome statistics and milestone events, he reviewed the collaborative journey between the two universities. He expressed the hope that the two universities would continue to work together wholeheartedly.

Address by XDU President Prof. Xinbo Gao

Address by HWU Principal Prof. Richard Williams

Mr. Haibo Wang spoke highly of the exploratory practice of the joint programme, stating that it represents a vivid demonstration of Shaanxi’s efforts to promote educational openness. Mr. Yong Huang reviewed the history of friendly cooperation between China and the UK in the field of education, affirming that the Foreign Affairs Office would fully leverage its functions to build more platforms for Sino-British educational collaborations. Ms. Catriona Radcliffe remarked that Heriot-Watt University has long upheld a tradition of pioneering spirit and she expressed hope that both universities would continue to leverage this partnership.

Prof. Yunsong Li, Dean of School of Telecommunications Engineering, gave a report on the operation progress to the conference. In addition, XDU President Prof. Xinbo Gao and HWU Principal Prof. Richard Williams signed the confirmation of intention during the conference.

（汪星 Xing Wang; 蔡芸泽 Yunze Cai）