Vice President Eric Garfunkel from Rutgers University Visits SCUT for Cooperation Talks
President Zhang Liqun meets visiting guests
On March 31, Vice President Eric Garfunkel and his delegation from Rutgers University visited South China University of Technology (SCUT). This marks the first visit by representatives of a foreign partner university after the regular COVID-19 prevention and control measure under the "Category B disease" policy. President Zhang Liqun of SCUT welcomed Eric Garfunkel and his delegation at the Shaw Building of Humanities on the Wushan Campus.
Meeting
During the meeting, President Zhang Liqun expressed warm welcome and appreciation for the fruitful cooperation between Rutgers and SCUT over the past decade. He highlighted the deep trust and friendship established through collaborative efforts such as joint student training, faculty exchanges, ROSE project cooperation, and the establishment of overseas education bases. It has become a model of cooperation in the higher education sector between China and the United States, as well as one of the successful practices in SCUT’s educational concept of “Internationalization at Home”. President Zhang expressed hope for the continued implementation of the principles of openness, inclusiveness, co-creation, sharing, peace cooperation and win-win development”. By continually innovating collaboration models and deepening areas of cooperation, he envisions achieving new successes in the next 15 years of collaboration. This effort aims to contribute to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Eric Garfunkel affirmed Rutgers University's view of SCUT as a core strategic partner. He expressed willingness to work closely with SCUT to jointly address new challenges in global higher education.
Meeting at GZIC
At the Guangzhou International Campus (GZIC), Deputy Secretary of the CPC SCUT Committee Tao Shaojing, deans of various schools held discussions with the delegation from Rutgers University. Both parties expressed the hope that, seizing this opportunity for exchange, GZIC would serve as a new growth point in collaboration, aiming to achieve progress in launching innovative joint training programs, increasing faculty and students exchanges, and jointly organizing international seminars.
Face-to face communication with GZIC students
After the meeting, an information session was conducted, where Eric Garfunkel introduced Rutgers University's history, current development, international student cultivation to GZIC students, and responded their enquiries, providing valuable information for students considering overseas study.
Directors from the International Office, Office of Global Affairs of GZIC, Office of Academic Affairs of SCUT, Office of Teaching Affairs of GZIC, and Deans of all the schools of GZIC participated in the above activities.
Key Milestones in the Cooperation between SCUT and Rutgers
2007, collaboration between SCUT and Rutgers University begins.
2008, launch of the first undergraduate 2+2 dual-degree program in Environmental Engineering. Over the past 16 years, more than 30 cooperation agreements have been signed, and various teaching and research platforms such as the China-America Innovation College have been established. Joint training programs are conducted in 9 disciplines, including environmental science, telecommunications, food science, and chemical engineering. Nearly 300 students from SCUT have participated in exchange programs at Rutgers University. Additionally, there have been over 100 reciprocal visits by faculty members from both institutions.
Since 2020, the two universities have collaborated to launch 4 phases of the ROSE Program, hosting a total of 342 Chinese freshmen from Rutgers University for temporary study at SCUT.
2020, signing of an agreement to establish overseas education bases.
2021, collaboration on the Academic English and Technical Communication co-taught course for more than 450 freshmen at GZIC, laying a solid foundation of their English.
2022, Rutgers conducted 5 online workshops on academic English teaching skills specifically for faculty members at GZIC.
2022, expansion of the 3+2 undergraduate and master's degree program to GZIC, encompassing School of Microelectronics and School of Future Technology. The first batch of students has been selected to study abroad in the program.
2022, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of collaboration, a commemorative event was grandly held both online and offline, marking GZIC as a new growth point in collaboration between the two universities.
Translator: Yaxin Zhang
Initial Proofreader: Sheng Gao
Final Proofreader: Zhaosheng Wu