From September 19 to 28, Huang Taiyan, Secretary of Wuhan University’s Party Committee, led a delegation to visit France, Bulgaria, and Iceland. The visit aimed to further implement key national goals and promote international cooperation in the polar field, as well as to actively nurture new growth points for exchanges with France on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. The delegation visited key cooperative partners, including École Nationale des Chartes in France, the Confucius Institute at Université Paris Cité, Sofia University in Bulgaria, the National Polar Research Center of Bulgaria, the University of Iceland, and Arctic Portal, and signed five agreements for cooperation. They also participated in the China-France ‘Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities’ PhD forum, visited the Chinese Embassy in France, the Chinese Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, and the Chinese Embassy in Iceland, and met with alumni representatives in France.
Upon arrival in Paris, the delegation visited École Nationale des Chartes that afternoon and attended the China-France ‘Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities’ PhD forum organized jointly by the School of Information Management of Wuhan University and École Nationale des Chartes, renewing the cooperation agreement between the two institutions with its president, Michelle Bubenicek. Huang Taiyan stated that this year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, and Wuhan University serves as an important window for educational, cultural, and technological exchanges between the two countries. The Intelligent Computing Lab for Cultural Heritage and the China-France Digital Culture and Heritage Research Center at our university would leverage their disciplinary advantages and integrate interdisciplinary platform resources, thereby further enhancing humanistic exchanges and educational cooperation between the two institutions in the future. Michelle Bubenicek reflected on the cooperative history between the School of Information Management at Wuhan University and École Nationale des Chartes in the fields of scientific research and talent cultivation, highly recognizing the achievements of both sides and expressing hope for deepening cooperative spaces and increasing the intensity of cooperation in academic research and talent training in the future.
Party Secretary Huang Taiyan and Principal Michelle Bubenicek renew the cooperation agreement between the two universities.
The delegation visits École Nationale des Chartes.
At Université Paris Cité, the delegation had a cordial meeting with the faculty and students of the Confucius Institute. Zhang Xiangjun, the French director of the Confucius Institute, warmly welcomed the delegation and reported on its development over the past few years and its current status. Fully recognizing the institute’s various achievements, Huang Taiyan expressed his hope for its continued adherence to student-centered educational philosophy, playing a greater role in promoting mutual understanding between China and France and enhancing the influence of Chinese culture. He specifically pointed out that seeing is believing, and he encouraged the students of the Confucius Institute to personally visit China and serve as ambassadors for cultural exchange between China and France.
The delegation visits the Confucius Institute at Université Paris Cité and holds a discussion with its faculty and students.
The delegation also visited China’s Permanent Mission to UNESCO and discussed cooperation on talent development in international organizations and the protection of cultural heritage with Counsellor Yu Xiaoping. After the meeting, the delegation toured the headquarters of UNESCO.
The delegation visits China’s Permanent Mission to UNESCO.
During their stay in France, the delegation also visited Professor Ma Xiaonan from the University of Paris Cité and other alumni representatives in France.
Huang Taiyan visits Professor Ma Xiaonan and other alumni in France.
At Sofia University in Bulgaria, the delegation met with the university's vice president, Tony Spassov, an academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Christo Pimpirev, the director of the Bulgarian National Center for Polar Research. The delegation signed cooperation memorandums with both Sofia University and the National Center for Polar Research. During the meeting, Huang Taiyan emphasized the preliminary cooperation in the polar field between the Chinese Antarctic Centre of Surveying and Mapping at Wuhan University, Sofia University, and the Bulgarian National Center for Polar Research. He said that Wuhan University looked forward to strengthening faculty and student exchanges and personnel visits with Sofia University to promote youth exchanges and understanding between China and Bulgaria, jointly cultivating future research leaders and industry experts. He also hoped to further develop joint research projects with the Bulgarian National Center for Polar Research to achieve information sharing and resource collaboration, working together to contribute to polar scientific research. Academician Tony Spassov stated that Sofia University places great importance on international exchanges and hopes to further expand cooperation with Wuhan University to establish a closer academic partnership. Christo Pimpirev introduced the contributions of the Bulgarian National Center for Polar Research in the field of polar science, particularly in geographic surveying and environmental monitoring in Antarctica. He looked forward to deepening cooperation with Wuhan University in polar research, promoting academic exchanges, and jointly opening a new chapter in the field of polar exploration. After the meeting, the delegation toured the Bulgarian National Center for Polar Research. Their visit was reported by the Bulgarian National News Agency.
The delegation visits Sofia University in Bulgaria.
The delegation visits the Bulgarian National Center for Polar Research.
At the University of Iceland, the delegation held formal talks with the university's president, Jón Atli Benediktsson, and signed a memorandum of understanding to formally establish a partnership between the two universities. During the meeting, Huang Taiyan briefly summarized the preceding cooperation between the Wuhan University South Polar Survey Research Center, the School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, and the National Key Laboratory of Surveying and Remote Sensing Information Engineering with the University of Iceland. He said that both universities are comprehensive institutions with overlapping strengths in various disciplines and strong complementarities. He looked forward to both sides using surveying and remote sensing as a starting point to expand cooperation into areas such as law, public administration, and environmental science, creating a strong alliance. Jón Atli Benediktsson acknowledged that the surveying and remote sensing discipline at Wuhan University ranks first in the world. As a scholar in the field of remote sensing, he has cooperated in-depth with scholars from Wuhan University in this field for many years. He also highlighted the university's interdisciplinary projects and looked forward to deepening cooperation between the two institutions, promoting substantial collaboration in areas such as student exchanges, summer programs, joint training, and joint research. He hoped that faculty and students from both universities would work together to foster the collision of academic ideas and the generation of innovative outcomes.
The delegation visits the University of Iceland.
In Reykjavik, Huang Taiyan met with Halldor Johannsson, the Executive Director of the Arctic Portal, and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation. Huang Taiyan expressed his gratitude to Halldor Johannsson for traveling from Geneva to Reykjavik to meet with the delegation. He stated that the Arctic Portal is one of the most mature organizations globally in the fields of outreach, communication, collaboration, consulting, surveying, and data systems related to the Arctic. He noted that Wuhan University was one of the earliest and most active Chinese universities participating in polar expeditions, with the largest number of dispatched scientific research personnel, indicating a broad prospect for cooperation between the two parties. He hoped that both sides would further strengthen collaboration in areas such as polar research, information sharing, and resource collaboration, contributing jointly to polar scientific research. Halldor Johannsson looked toward this meeting and the signing of the memorandum of understanding as a new chapter for cooperation between the two parties.
Huang Taiyan, Secretary of Wuhan University’s Party Committee, meets with Halldor Johannsson, Director of Arctic Portal, and signs a Memorandum of Cooperation.
This visit yielded significant results, further optimizing Wuhan University's cooperation network with Europe, and promoting talent cultivation and research collaboration with European universities and institutions in the fields of law, cultural heritage preservation, public administration, and polar research.
Rewritten by Shi Yuqing
