Tongji University’s Vice President, Professor Xianzhong Zhao, met with Vice President and Director of Global Engagement, Dr Malcolm Butler, and colleagues from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Engineering and Health to discuss potential areas for collaborative research, international summer schools and joint PhDs.
Dr Malcolm Butler said: “It was a pleasure to welcome colleagues from Tongji University to Sheffield. When I first visited Tongji ten years ago, it was clear that there were many areas of shared interest in which we could collaborate.
"During this visit we have had the opportunity to build on our current collaborations and to explore new areas to work together and I am excited to see how these develop further. Partnerships are a core facet of our institution’s approach to internationalisation and they help to extend our global reach and reputation.”
Partnerships are a core facet of our institution’s approach to internationalisation and they help to extend our global reach and reputation.
Dr Malcolm Butler
Vice President and Director of Global Engagement
Professor Xianzhong Zhao added: “We are delighted to sign this memorandum of understanding with Sheffield. We look forward to growing the ways in which we work with one another across both research and education.”
About Tongji University and areas for collaboration:
Based in Shanghai, Tongji University attracts students from all parts of China and all over the world, in particular those pursuing careers in the field of architecture, medicine, and civil engineering.
Tongji has many synergies with Sheffield’s People, Environments and Performance Research Groups with scope to collaborate on research on the built environment, spatial production, climate heritage and the design of interior and exterior public spaces.
Meetings with staff from the Faculty of Health identified Neuroscience as one of the areas with clear potential for collaboration with specific reference and interest shown around both the Advanced Therapy Centre and the Polaris Institute, while within the Faculty of Engineering, the potential for collaboration across Mechanical and Civil engineering were evident.
Professor Ruth Blakely, Faculty Director of Research and Innovation for Social Sciences, said: “The discussions with Tongji University have highlighted exciting areas for collaborative, multidisciplinary research into smart cities and the role of AI and technology in architecture and planning. Sharing one another’s expertise and harnessing one another’s resources and reach will help us push the boundaries in these areas.”