UTS will support the City of Sydney in celebrating the 30th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Guangzhou in China.
The City of Sydney has awarded UTS and partner universities $50,000 for two projects that aim to strengthen the relationship between the two cities. The celebrations include a five-day campaign of business, civic, economic and cultural activities in Guangzhou between 30 May and 3 June 2016.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (International and Advancement) Professor William Purcell said the celebrations will mark a significant milestone in the relationship with Sydney and China, which UTS is proud to support.
"UTS has developed a rich and diverse collaboration with over 40 partner organisations as well as individuals in China, to exchange the best and brightest in education, research, entrepreneurship and innovation," Professor Purcell said.
"In particular, our collaboration with Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou since 2013 has resulted in doctoral degree scholarships, visiting fellow programs, academic mutual visits and short programs. A Joint Research Institute for Health Technology and Innovation was also launched in May this year."
The sister city celebrations will include an alumni networking event for graduates from Sydney universities, the first joint alumni event to be held in Guangzhou.
This event aims to further develop meaningful and long-term networks between Guangzhou and Sydney and encourage the exchange of knowledge and ideas among alumni.
UTS will deliver this event in partnership with the University of Sydney, University of NSW, Macquarie University, Western Sydney University and the Australian Catholic University, with media and marketing support from Study NSW.
Each university has large international student populations from Guangzhou and already hosts annual alumni events in China.
"UTS has a strong alumni network in China, with over 20,000 Chinese students graduating since the university was established," Professor Purcell said.
"Our alumni events have proved valuable in developing strong connections between UTS, graduates and industry. For the first time, this collaborative event will generate an exchange of ideas across Sydney university alumni, and further establish networks in Sydney and China."
UTS is also partnering with the University of Sydney and the University of NSW to deliver a one-day symposium on sustainability. The event will specifically focus on renewable energy, water and infrastructure.
The program will include presentations from up to 15 academics from the Sydney-based universities as well as keynote addresses from government representatives, seminars, business matching activities and a student-facing sustainability exhibition.
This event is also being presented in partnership with Sun Yat-Sen University, one of UTS' Key Technology Partners.
Professor Purcell said this event aims to showcase Sydney's strengths in research and education capabilities in the area of sustainability.
"UTS has a strong commitment to integrating sustainability into all areas of university life from teaching and learning, campus operations, community engagement as well one of our key research themes.
"Sustainability is an important issue for industry, government and universities when planning for the future," Professor Purcell said. "This symposium will initiate discussion between key stakeholders to generate new research, training and technology outcomes."
These two projects have received funding from the City of Sydney's 2015/16 Knowledge Exchange Sponsorship Program. Other activities will also be organised by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australia China Business Council and the Asian Australian Artists Association.
- The City of Sydney has awarded UTS and partner universities $50,000 for projects to strengthen the 30-year sister city relationship with Guangzhou in China
- The celebrations include a five-day campaign of business, civic, economic and cultural activities in Guangzhou between 30 May and 3 June next year