Nanjing University will establish strategic partnership and in-depth multidisciplinary collaborations with the University of Graz, agreed by the Austrian university’s delegation, led by Martin Polaschek and Peter Riedler, the university’s vice rectors for studies and finances respectively, and Nanjing University’s academy committee, headed by Professor Hong Yinxing, the committee’s director and senior professor of humanities and social sciences who received the guests during their visit to Nanjing University on September 13.   

Professor Hong expressed his appreciation of the visit by the two rectors and briefed them on the achievements in the cooperation of the two universities over the past four years, especially the joint establishment of the Sino-Austrian Schumpeter Innovation Center, which he saw as having great significance to both universities.    

For Nanjing University, according to him, the establishment of the center enabled it to seize the opportunity of secure funding for the “National Double Innovation Demonstration Base” and avail itself of the regional advantage so as to gain new vitality in the context of innovative economic development.    

Hong highly praised the third China Forum and the the Belt and Road Initiative High-End Summit hosted by the University of Graz in 2016 and suggested the cooperation between the two universities for the next forum.   

Hong also hoped that more faculty and students can participate in the multidisciplinary cooperation between the two universities, which is conducive to the establishment of strategic partnership in its truly meaningful sense.    

Vice Rector Polaschek expressed his appreciation for the endeavors of Nanjing University in developing the Sino-Austrian Schumpeter Innovation Center and pointed out that the University of Graz sees Nanjing University as a worldwide strategic partner.    

He hoped that the cooperation of the two universities can extend to disciplines of law, psychology and mathematics, and he looked forward to more comprehensive cooperation and more exchange and communication between faculty and students on the two sides.   

Those attending the meeting also included Fan Conglai, assistant to the president, and representatives of the School of Business, Institute for International Students and Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges.