Delegation visit marks expanded UTS engagement with China

The visit of a senior Chinese delegation to UTS earlier this week marked the forging of new relationships with two Chinese universities.

The delegation, headed by His Excellency Mr Hu Chunhua, a senior member of the national government and Party Secretary of Guangdong Province, saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hui Zhou University and launch of a Joint Research Institute for Health Technology and Innovation with Sun Yat-Sen University. Both universities are in Guangdong Province.

Mr Hu, who was visiting Sydney as a guest of the NSW Government, also toured UTS's Frank Gehry-designed Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, opened in February this year. He was accompanied on the tour by Dr Chau, an Australian-Chinese businessman and philanthropist who donated $20 million towards its construction.

UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Attila Brungs said that UTS now has agreements with 40 partner organisations in China, among them five key technology partner institutions which include Sun Yat-Sen University.

"Sun Yat-Sen University has been a key technology partner of UTS since April 2013," said Professor Brungs. "In that time, there has been much excellent collaborative work in areas such as doctoral degree scholarships, visiting fellow programs, academic mutual visits and short programs."

Professor Brungs said the new joint research institute would pursue mutual interest in areas including biomedical engineering and biosensors for medical applications, intelligent drug delivery, the health workforce, cardiovascular, aged and chronic care and telemedicine.

The MoU with Hui Zhou University will encourage direct contact and co‐operation including visits and exchange opportunities for students and staff and joint research activities.

"Like UTS, Hui Zhou is a young university," he said. "It was only formally constituted as a university in 2000 even though its antecedent institutions go back to 1921.”

"Similarly, it has made a major investment in transforming its facilities and resources for learning, teaching and research. Clearly we have much in common."