Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Translated by: Zheng Xia
Edited by: Wang Dongmei
On the morning of April 1st, Mr. Johan D'Halleweyn, Consul General of the Consulate General of Belgium in Guangzhou; Professor Walter Luyten at the Faculty of Medicine of KU Leuven; Mr. Tony Zhang, Commercial Director of Flanders Investment & Trade Agency; and Mr. Koen De Ridder, former trade commissioner and an alumnus of KU Leuven, visited SYSU. Yan Guangmei, Vice President of Sun Yat-sen University; Huang Min, Dean of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences; and representatives of Office of International Cooperation & Exchange met with the guests in the VIP room on North Campus.
Vice President Yan Guangmei exchanging gifts with Consul General Johan D'Halleweyn
Consul General Johan D'Halleweyn briefly reviewed the history and general situation of the exchanges between Belgium and China, especially Guangdong Province and expressed his pleasure in the development of China-Belgium friendly relations. Meanwhile, he hoped that, in addition to the already established economic and trade collaborations, the two sides could facilitate collaborations in the educational and academic field. He also hoped that this visit could promote cooperation between Sun Yat-sen University and Belgian universities such as KU Leuven.
Vice President Yan Guangmei extended a warm welcome to the group led by Consul General Johan D'Halleweyn and briefly introduced the basic situation of SYSU, its medical sciences and international cooperation programs. He said that international cooperation is one of the key tasks of SYSU. We hope to broaden international cooperation and exchange with overseas high-level institutions and develop education and research collaborations with Belgian higher education institutions like KU Leuven.
Dean Huang Min introduced the general situation of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and its predominant disciplines. Professor Walter Luyten also introduced the general situation of KU Leuven, especially its collaborations with China. He said that Chinese students have become the second biggest international student group in KU Leuven. With the expanding and deepening of China-Belgium cooperation, enhancing cooperation with Chinese universities is a prior development strategy of its international cooperation.
The attendees present at the meeting also discussed and exchanged opinions on double-degree program, postgraduate exchange program, students training program and summer session program.
KU Leuven is the largest university in Belgium, and one of the most ancient universities in Europe. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013, KU Leuven was ranked 58th in the world. In the 2012-2013 academic year, KU Leuven has 41,255 students, 6,724 of whom are international students, and 18,635 faculty and staff (8,775 of whom work at the university hospital). KU Leuven is a comprehensive university covering the humanities and social sciences; science, engineering and technology; and biomedical sciences.
