In order to speed up the internationalization of USTC and with the strong support of school leaders and relevant departments, the International Building of USTC on the East Campus, after rebuilding, was officially put into use on the morning of November 18.
Many people attended the opening ceremony, including Mr. Du Jiangfeng, Vice President, Dean of International College, Mr. Qin Junfeng, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui Province, as well as foreign experts and international student representatives, etc. The ceremony was presided over by Qu Kun who is the Minister of the Office of International Cooperation.
At the ceremony, Mr. Du expressed his warmest welcome to all the guests and colleagues who presented. He said that the completion of the International Building is not only important for the integration of the International College, but also a strong guarantee for OIC to perform its functions and serve teachers and students. If Chinese universities want to become world-class universities, the only way is through the internationalization of education. And USTC, whose progress closely tied to the fate of our country, attaches great importance to internationalization. In the future, USTC will carry out extensive international cooperation, actively participate in global education governance and cultivate more extraordinary talents with international perspectives, thus contributing to build a community of common destiny for all mankind.
The Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui province intends to establish a branch office in the International Building of USTC this year to facilitate students and teachers on campus, which will significantly improve the efficiency. On behalf of the university, Mr. Du expressed his gratitude for its strong support to USTC's internationalization work. He hoped that in the future, USTC would continue to deepen the communication and cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Office of the province.
Mr. Qin congratulated on the opening of the International Building. He pointed out that as one of China’s most prestigious universities, USTC has a number of majors and disciplines that have been recognized globally, a number of research projects with international level and a number of scientific talents with international reputation. By setting up a permanent branch office at USTC, the Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui Province will serve for the international cooperation and exchanges of USTC more efficiently and make a contribution to the improvement of Anhui’s level of opening up.
Afterwards, Prof. Zachary Smith, a representative of foreign experts from the School of Engineering Science, and Viktorila Saklakova, an international student with doctoral degree from the School of Earth and Space Science, shared their research and study experiences in USTC and expressed their own expectations for the future international development of USTC.
At the end of the ceremony, Vice President Du Jiangfeng, Vice Director Qin Junfeng, Director Dong Shaohua, Professor Zachary Smith and Viktorila Saklakova together light up the launch desk with the golden plum key to announce the official opening of the International Building.
After the International Building was officially put into use, the Office of International Cooperation, the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Office, and the International College will relocate there to carry on their work. In the near future, the OIC will focus on the overall development goal of USTC and do its due work in improving USTC’s talent cultivation, scientific research cooperation and international reputation.
(Written by DUAN Qingrong, edited by LI Xiaoxi, USTC News Center)
