On September 21, the Establishment and Unveiling ceremony of the Project Office of German Universities in China was successfully held at the Haidian Campus, CUPL. Hu Ming, CUPL Council Chair Ulrich Rüdiger, President of RWTH Aachen University, Heinz-Peter Mansel, Vice President of University of Cologne, Zhou Fubao, Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology, Yin Wen, Deputy Director of European Division of Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, Ministry of Education, Yildiz Miller, Deputy Director of Cultural Office of the German Embassy in China, Philipp Dengel, Director of Bavarian University Alliance /Bavarian Academic Center for China, and other leaders and guests attended the ceremony. Also attending the event were guests from 17 Chinese universities including Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Beijing University of Science and Technology, University of International Business and Economics, Southeast University, China University of Mining and Technology, Zhejiang University, Xiamen University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Minzu University of China, Beijing Institute of Technology, Nanjing Normal University, Shenzhen University, and Shanxi University, as well as guests from 11 German institutions and universities including Sino-German Science CenterSino-German Scientist Cooperation and Exchanges, German Academic Exchange Service Beijing Office, Academic Evaluation Centre, University of Siegen, University of Bayreuth, University of Jena, North Rhine-Westphalia University Alliance, and Bavarian University Alliance/Bavarian Academic Center for China. The event was jointly sponsored by the Project Office of German Universities in China and the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange of CUPL and was co-moderated by Xu Lan, Director of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange of CUPL and Philipp Dengel.
At the unveiling ceremony, Council Chair Hu Ming, on behalf of CUPL, expressed warm congratulations on the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China, and estended sincere gratitude to all leaders, Sino-German institutions and colleagues from universities who have cared for, supported and participated for a long time in the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China. In his speech, Council Chair Hu introduced briefed on CUPL's development and achievements. He said that since the end of the 1980, CUPL had conducted close communications and cooperation with German elite universities such as the University of Cologne, the University of Hamburg, and the University of Munich, cultivating a large number of high-end talents who had an international vision, understood international rules, and were capable of participating in international affairs and competition as well as capable of using Chinese, German and English as their working languages. He emphasized that the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China would provide a more stable platform for higher education cooperation between China and Germany, and further promote the training of talents, academic exchanges and long-term friendship between China and Germany. He said that with the care and support of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education and with the joint efforts of relevant universities and institutions in China and Germany, the Project Office of German Universities in China would certainly see continuous improvements.
Heinz-Peter Mansel pointed out in his speech that the cooperation between the University of Cologne and CUPL enjoyed a long history and a broad prospect. He reviewed the long-term friendship and pragmatic cooperation between the two universities and especially thanked all the leaders of CUPL for their strong support for the completion of the Project Office of German Universities in China and thanked the close consultation and negotiation between the two sides to complete the project office. He said that the establishment of the universities’ overseas office will not only enhance the visibility and influence of the universities but also facilitate finding partners and building networks, and promote the international exchanges for teachers and students. He expected the project office to play a greater role in the in-depth communication and cooperation with China’s universities. Ulrich Rüdiger expressed his heartfelt congratulations on the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China and expressed his gratitude to the German Academic Exchange Service for its long-term support for the cooperation of RWTH Aachen University with China. He believed that the establishment of the office would help Aachen University to establish closer cooperation and exchanges with China's top universities and deepen friendship.
On behalf of the Ministry of Education, Yin Wen expressed his congratulations on the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China and expressed his appreciation for the fruitful cooperation among CUPL and many universities in Germany. He emphasized that the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China was not a one-step process, but a process that must be based on long-term mutual trust and cooperation, which reflects the unique charm of CUPL in Sino-German cooperation. He also praised the project office as another milestone in the cooperation between Chinese and German universities. Yin Wen mentioned that the current world is in a state of great change which had never happened for the past 100 years and that the process of digitization and informatization have gradually accelerated, bringing both opportunities and challenges to cooperation between China and Germany, both of which are manufacturing powers. In the future, he said, the Ministry of Education would further support the strategic docking of China's "Double First-Class" construction and German "Universities Excellence Initiative" and encourage high-level personnel training and scientific research cooperation. He hoped that universities of the two countries would work together to create a golden standard for higher education cooperation between China and Germany.
Yildiz Miller congratulated on the establishment of the Project Office of German Universities in China. She said that there was a concept of "gathering" in German and that the Project Office of German Universities in China not only gathered together Chinese and German intelligence but also German universities. She hoped that the Project Office of German Universities in China can actively act as a bridge to deepen Sino-German friendship and strengthen cooperation in many fields. Subsequently, Philipp Dengel read a congratulatory letter from the Presidents of the University of Bayreuth, the University of Jena and the University of Siegen for the unveiling ceremony and expressed heartfelt gratitude to CUPL and extended sincere respect to all the collaborative partners.
Finally, witnessed by the participants, Hu Ming, Ulrich Rüdiger and Heinz-Peter Mansel jointly unveiled the Project Office of German Universities in China, marking a new chapter in the cooperation among CUPL and German universities. The faculty representatives from CUPL’s School of International Law, School of Foreign Studies, College of Comparative Law, and China-EU School of Law, as well as student representatives from the Civil, Commercial and Economics Law School and China-EU School of Law participated in the above activities.
