Between May 11 and 20, 2017, Prof. Ma Huaide, Vice-President of CUPL, was invited to attend the Fifth Board Meeting of the Confucius Institute at the Bangor University, the Eighteenth Partner Conference of China-EU School of Law (CESL), and the Thirteenth Conference of Joint Administration. In addition, Prof. Ma Huaide led a delegation to visit Reykjavik University, University of Bergen and University of Oslo, aiming to reach important consensus on expanding inter-institutional interactions and strengthening bilateral cooperations. During the visit, the delegation also met with the Education Section of the Consulate General of the P.R.C. in Manchester and the Educational Section of the Embassy of the P.R.C in the Kingdom of Norway.

During the visit to the UK, the delegation was invited to attend the Fifth Board Meeting of the Confucius Institute at Bangor University. The meeting reviewed the summary of the last meeting, exchanged views on current priorities, especially the preparation for the establishment of five Confucius Classrooms, and discussed the CI’s working plan and focus in the second half of this year. The delegation also attended the Eighteenth Partner Conference of CESL, and the Thirteenth Conference of Joint Administration to listen to the 2017 Action Plan of CESL and discuss CESL’s recent progress in various activities, its future framework, financial status, and its tenth anniversary. After the meetings, agreements were reached about future agendas and timetable.

When visiting Northern Europe, the delegation met with Ari Kristinn Jónsson, President of Reykjavik University, Dag Rune Olsen, President of University of Bergen, Ole Petter Ottersen, President of University of Oslo, and other school leaders as well as representatives of the relative schools or departments. They together discussed the topic of strengthening inter-school cooperation. In addition to the talks with Reykjavik University, the two sides discussed new forms of co-operation, and ideas to encourage faculty mobility for shared lectures and to receive and support foreign students with scholarships. The delegation also reached a consensus with the University of Bergen to renew the Memorandum on Cooperation Agreement. Both sides agreed to integrate non-juris science into cooperation, increase student exchange, and encourage foreign students to attend degree programs. Other agreements included organizing summer schools and promoting faculty communication and so on. Based on the friendly cooperation between CUPL and University of Oslo’s law school, the two universities will also strive to promote interdisciplinary cooperation in the fields of juris science, politics, sociology and philosophy, and encourage faculty and student exchanges in order to steadily develop the relationship between the two universities.

Xu Lan, Director of Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, Liu Fei, Chinese Co-Dean of China-EU School of Law, Yao Zejin, Vice-Dean of Guangming School of Journalism and Communication accompanied Vice-President Ma Huaide during the visit.