On the morning of September 6th, Richard Williams, President of Heriot-Watt University in the UK, and his delegation visited our university. President Sha Aimin met with guests in the First Lecture Hall of the Faculty and Student Service Hall at Weishui Campus, and the two sides discussed and signed an inter-university substantive cooperation agreement. Vice President Fan Wen attended the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Huang Guanwen, Director of the Office of International Affairs.
Sha Aimin welcomed the visit of Richard Williams and his delegation, and introduced the measures and progress of Chang'an University in implementing the internationalization strategy and expanding international exchanges and cooperation. He said that Chang'an University and Heriot-Watt University have a high degree of compatibility in disciplines, especially in the field of engineering. With similar disciplinary backgrounds and advantages, the signing of the formal cooperation agreement between the two universities is another major achievement in the field of open education in recent years, and he hopes that in the future, the two sides will strengthen interaction and promote their respective development to a new level.
Richard·Williams gave a detailed introduction to the history of Heriot-Watt University, its faculties, its majors, talent training, and its cooperative projects. He said that improving students' skills and providing international educational opportunities are the aims of the university, and he looks forward to pragmatic cooperation with Chang'an University in teaching practice, scientific and technological innovation, etc., to help students better meet global challenges. In particular, Xi'an and Edinburgh are both famous historical and cultural cities, and they hope to expand more space in terms of people-to-people exchanges.
Fan Wen focused on the specific measures and achievements of the university to give full play to the advantages of disciplines and specialties to promote the internationalization of education. He said that Heriot-Watt University is a world-renowned university, especially in engineering, architecture and city and town planning, which are ranked first in Scotland, and the two universities have a very good foundation for development. This cooperation will further enhance the comprehensive professional strength of Chang'an University and broaden the platform and opportunities for teachers and students to carry out international scientific research cooperation and international exchanges.
Professor Neil Dunse, Director of International Affairs of the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Dr. Mike Bates, Director of the Admissions Office, Feng Zhengbin, Dean of the School of Foreign Studies and Dr. Zhu Le, School of Architecture, delivered speeches respectively. The two sides focused on the joint training program of English interpreting, architecture and urban and rural planning, and exchanged views and reached an important consensus on the project development model.
At the meeting, the two sides signed an inter-university cooperation agreement.
After the meeting, the delegation visited the University History Museum. The main leaders of the International Office, the President's Office, the Development Planning Office, the Academic Affairs Office, the Graduate School, the School of Foreign Studies, and the School of Architecture attended the meeting.
Founded in 1821, Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom has a history of 203 years and is the eighth higher education institution established in the history of the United Kingdom. The university is ranked 235th in the world and 23rd in the UK by QS 2024. It is a world leader in mathematics, computer science, engineering, construction and environment, petroleum engineering, textile technology, etc. The majors of Interpreting and Architectural and Environmental Planning that have cooperated with our university are ranked fourth in the UK.
