On October 26, a high-level delegation from Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium, visited JI. The high-ranking delegates included Rector/President Mark Waer,Prof. Koen Debackere, Managing Director of the University and Executive Director of Leuven Research and Development, and five other directors and professors. They met with SJTU’s Liang Guo, Deputy Director of International Cooperation and Exchange, JI’s Prof. Robert Parker, Executive Dean, Pam Byrnes, Executive Director, Kwee-Yan Teh and Viva Du of the International Program Office.
During the briefing, Prof. Parker highlighted the impressive achievements of JI’s excellent students and high-caliber faculty and the ongoing goals of cultivating innovative global leaders and building a top-notch international engineering university, for which international exchange programs are critical.
The visit was initiated by Prof. Parker, who had a dialogue with Prof. Wim Desmet and Prof. Bart De Moor while visiting KU Leuven a few weeks ago. They were enthusiastic about the academic cooperation with JI.
According to KU Leuven’s International Office, the purpose of this visit is to learn about the set-up, structures, operation, governance, and strategic goals of the SJTU – Michigan Joint Institute. Subsequently, the delegation would like to explore the possibility of international cooperation withJI.
KU Leuven was founded in 1425 and is the largest university in Belgium and the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Belgium，and Luxembourg). In the 2012-2013 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) university ranking, the KU Leuven was ranked 58th in the world and 13th in Europe.
The KU Leuven is a highly research-oriented university with excellence in engineering. Other research strong suits include semiconductor, microelectronics and nano-technology, bio-informatics and bio-statistics, stem cell research, clinical medicine, medical imaging, nervous system, exercise therapy and rehabilitation, trauma psychology, genetics, food science, actuary and econometrics, EU law, architecture, ancient architecture preservation, and cryptography. The university’s web site is http://www.kuleuven.be/ .
