Newsflash

Wednesday 21 November

On Wednesday morning, all participants from Tsinghua were engaged in final meetings with their Leuven colleagues at the various departments and laboratories. Opportunities for the actual exchange of staff and students and of research results were discussed.

Before the Solemn Closing Ceremony at the university's Faculty Club, the Tsinghua delegation and the Leuven International Office members enjoyed a touristic trip to Waterloo with its Lion and to the famous Atomium in Brussels.

Looking back upon the event, Tsinghua University and K.U.Leuven are very proud to announce the signing of an Overall Memorandum of Agreement on Cooperation between both institutions. The Memorandum is linked to a university-wide Student Exchange Agreement and to several faculty agreements including the following research groups: Biomedical Sciences, Economics and Business, Electrical Engineering, Architectural Sciences, Urbanism and Conservation.

Tuesday 20 November

On Tuesday the delegation was received by several research groups and departments at K.U.Leuven. Colleagues had the opportunity to get acquainted with research highlights and to discuss further cooperation.

In the afternoon, part of the delegation visited IMEC, a world leader in Micro-Electronics Research. In the Humanities, a large group of Leuven students and staff met with experts from Tsinghua University during the "Forum on Sustainable Development".

President Gu Binglin and Rector Marc Vervenne unveiled the Tsinghua@Leuven Aquarelle in the International Office. The aquarelle commemorates the start of the cooperation between both universities.

Trio Portici, a famous trio for violin, violoncello and piano, concluded this intensive working day with a cultural touch during dinner.

Monday 19 November

Today, some members of the Tsinghua delegation visited the Science Park in Haasrode (Leuven), while others were welcomed to the European Parliament by Mr Dirk Sterckx, a former television journalist and nowadays a Belgian member of the European Parliament.

In the afternoon, the delegation paid a visit to K.U.Leuven's central university library, where head librarian Mel Collier elaborated on the history of the library and its books. Afterwards, the Tsinghua photo exhibition was inaugurated by Tsinghua President Gu Binglin and Rector Marc Vervenne.

At 5.30 pm a ceremony took place to officially open the Tsinghua@K.U.Leuven event. President Gu Binglin, the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Mrs Zhang Qiyue and Vice-President for International Affairs Xie Weihe took the opportunity to present their university and emphasize the importance of the Leuven-Tsinghua collaboration.