Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Proofread by: Han Ying
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the afternoon of March 16, 2016, a delegation from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) visited Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU). Members of the delegation included Dr. Olivier Le Gall, Deputy Director General for Science of INRA; Dr. Hélène Lucas, Science Administrator of INRA Versailles, International Scientific Coordinator of the Wheat Initiative, Chair of the GIS Biotechnologies Vertes Managing Board; Dr. Robert Habib, Head of International Affairs of INRA; and Dr. Zheng Li, Head of INRA Representation in China.

Prof. Wei Minghai, Vice President of SYSU, met with the guests in Zhongshan Building on South Campus, accompanied by Prof. Qiu Rongliang, Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Prof. Ling Wenhua, Director of the Office of International Cooperation & Exchange, and Prof. Tao Liang, Deputy Dean of the Office of Scientific Research and Development.


Prof. Wei Minghai said that the current cooperation between SYSU and the INRA has gained support from Guangdong Provincial Government and SYSU, and he hoped that the two parties can deepen cooperation in the fields of soil remediation as well as nutrition and food safety.

Dr. Olivier Le Gall said that last December the INRA and SYSU jointly established the Sino-French Joint Laboratory of Soil Environment, the third international joint lab for the INRA. The two parties have established initial relationship in public health, and it is hoped that both parties will enhance cooperation in this field in the future.

At the meeting, the two parties also exchanged opinions on holding joint seminar, jointly applying for research grant, faculty exchange and researcher recruitment.

Established in 1946, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) has 20 research centers and 1,800 full-time researchers. Each year the INRA receives about 1,600 PhD students and 1,000 trainees and foreign researchers.