Beijing, November 13, 2025 – The 2025 China-Italy university presidents forum was held in Beijing to implement the common understandings between the heads of state and deepen educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng and Italian Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini signed a joint statement during the forum. Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of Education, presided over the meeting. Representatives from over 60 universities and institutions from China and Italy attended the forum. President Tang Hongwu of South China University of Technology (SCUT) attended the event.

During the dialogue session, President Tang Hongwu attended the presentation of outcomes from the Italy-China university collaboration project. In the presence of ministers from both sides, he signed Memorandums of Understanding with the rectors of the University of Ferrara and the University of Salento respectively, to further deepen cooperation in talent development and scientific research innovation.

During the panel discussion titled “Advancing Interdisciplinary Integration to Address Global Challenges,” Tang delivered a keynote speech on “Cultivating Talent Through Interdisciplinary Integration: Writing a New Chapter of China-Italy Collaboration.” He noted that since the meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Mattarella last year, SCUT has been actively implementing the mutually reinforcing strategies of “internationalization at home” and “two-way internationalization”. Leveraging platforms such as the Ministry of Education’s first batch of interdisciplinary centers and the National Institute for Excellent Engineers, SCUT has carried out significant interdisciplinary collaboration with Politecnico di Torino, the University of Ferrara, Politecnico di Bari, and the University of Calabria in areas including joint talent cultivation, technological innovation, and industry-academia synergy. These efforts have yielded notable results. Moving forward, SCUT will further expand practical cooperation with Italian universities across multiple fields, contributing to mutual learning and exchange between Chinese and Italian civilizations.

During the conference, Tang held in-depth exchanges with representatives from Politecnico di Milano, the University of Salento, Politecnico di Bari, Ca’Foscari University of Venice, and other institutions. The discussions extensively covered inter-university scientific research collaboration, joint master’s and doctoral training, and the development of Confucius Institutes. Multiple consensuses were reached, comprehensively advancing China-Italy higher education cooperation in a more substantive and deepened manner.

Source: SCUT News

Translated by CHEN Wanmei

Initial Review by AN Yufan

Final Review by WU Zhaosheng