Peking University, May 8, 2015: On April 14, the Australian National University (ANU) Day of Peking University kicked off at Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center. A delegation led by Ian Young AO, President of ANU, and Andrew Barr, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, visited Peking University. Professor Zhu Shanlu, chairman of Peking University Council, Professor Lin Jianhua, president of PKU, and Professor Li Yansong, vice president of PKU, received the guests.
Professor Lin Jianhua delivered a speech on the opening ceremony of ANU Day and accorded a warm welcome to the guests. He highly praised the academic achievement and reputation of ANU and reviewed the cooperation of ANU and PKU in retrospect. Dating back to the 1980s, the in-depth mutual exchange has been carried out in the fields of engineering and medical science. Now, PKU and ANU still take every opportunity to promote cooperation of two sides.
Then, Professor Ian Young and Mr. Andrew Barr delivered speeches about “The role of university in national economic development”, elaborating on the capacity and feature that world class universities should be equipped with to repay and contribute to society. They both shed light on the significant role China plays in the world, which in part explains why ANU particularly focuses on Chinese study. They further expressed their hope to maintain close contact and strengthen cooperation with PKU in the future.
Professor Ian Young and Mr. Andrew Barr deliver speeches
Professor Zhu Shanlu met with the guests after the opening ceremony. In their talk, both sides reviewed the history of their communication, and reached a consensus on partnership in specific disciplines and the promotion of communication of scholars and students.
Professor Ian Young and Professor Zhu Shanlu exchange gifts
In the afternoon, the two sides opened up academic discussions in several areas. Wang Jie, vice president of PKU and Margaret Harding, vice president (research) of ANU held deep talks about the current situation of academic cooperation and future development of the two universities. 26 scholars including four deans from ANU colleges attended academic conferences and communicated with professors of PKU from School of Mathematical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, School of Earth and Space Sciences, College of Engineering, Health Science Center and Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA).
On the morning of April 15, the delegation visited PKU International Hospital. Professor Zhang Zhongqiang, president of PKU International Hospital and Professor Yang Xuesong, vice president of PKU International Hospital met the delegation and discussed the cooperation issues.
Background Info
Australian National University (ANU) is a world-leading university in Australia’s capital city, Canberra. Its location points to the unique history, ties to the Australian Government and special standing as a resource for the Australian people. Its focus on research as an asset, and an approach to education, ensures the graduates are in demand the world-over for their abilities to understand, and apply vision and creativity to addressing complex contemporary challenges. ANU has secured its position as Australia's top university in the latest QS global subject rankings with its four top 10 subjects in the world, more than any other Australian university. In the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015, it was rated seventh in the world for both agriculture and forestry, and for politics and international studies and was rated ninth for history and 10th for Development Studies. A further 10 ANU subjects were rated in the top 25 in the world, including earth and marine sciences, which rated 12th.
Written by: You Ya
Edited by: Li Ruiqi
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
