The 18th University of Michigan- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI) board meeting was held at SJTU and the UM simultaneously via teleconference on February 26. The SJTU attendees included Sixian Jiang, Chairman of the SJTU Council; President Zhang Jie; Vice Presidents Zhongqin Lin and Xuemin Xu. In Ann Arbor, UM attendees included President Mark Schlissel, David C. Munson Jr., Dean of School Engineering, Jack Hu, Vice President for Research, James Holloway, Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Professor Greg Hulbert of School of Engineering. President Zhang officiated.
Dean Peisen Huang gave a detailed report on UM- SJTU Joint Institute’s current status, including student recruitment, ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation progress, faculty hiring, research development and collaboration. He pointed out JI’s recent accomplishment in fund raising, with the establishment of Yu Liming Endowed Scholarship, Tang Jun Yuan Michigan Scholarship, and John and Jan Wu endowment. On ABET accreditation, JI’s two undergraduate programs of mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering passed the on-site assessment in October 2015. In international exchange, JI has signed exchange agreements with the 9 campuses of the University of California, RWTH Aachen University in Germany, Troyes University of Engineering and Technology in France and other universities. The first student exchange program will kick off in fall, 2016.
M.S. Krishnan, UM Associate Dean for Global Initiatives, presented the latest development of the Michigan Ross Master of Management – Shanghai Cohort Program. He reported that the four enrolled JI students are outstanding, one of whom has been hired by the Shanghai Division of Bloomberg, world’s leading financial information provider. Krishnan believes that the collaboration between JI and the Michigan Ross School of Business, with the combined strengths of engineering and business management, will produce a new generation of leaders. The smooth development of the program will add even more impetus on the long-term close cooperation between UM and SJTU.
At the meeting, Brian Fowlkes, UM Associate VP for Health Sciences, Volker Sick, UM Associate VP for Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Chien-Pin Chen, JI Associate Dean for Research, briefed on the joint research fund, joint laboratory construction and inception of the Materials Science and Engineering program. Both sides also held deep discussions on JI’s vision and future development in the next decade. Dean Peisen Huang proposed to add interdisciplinary development based on JI’s foundation of Innovation, Internationalization and Quality.
Closing the board meeting, UM President Mark Schlissel remarked that he was very pleased with the extraordinary achievements resulting from the collaboration between UM and SJTU. He said the comprehensive long-term collaboration between the two universities have established mutual trust and mutual benefits. It is a win-win for both sides. He is looking forward to further collaboration and continued development in the next decade. Using the analogy of growing trees, Chairman Sixian Jiang remarked that nurturing talents is a long-term endeavor. “In addition to JI’s tenth anniversary, this year is also SJTU’s 120th anniversary and UM’s 199th anniversary. Both universities not only have a long and successful history in education, but also co-founded the Joint Institute. The cooperation between the two universities continue to deepen and expand. JI will face both opportunities and challenges in the next decade, but I firmly believe that JI will achieve more remarkable achievements.”
