Jiang Lan (left), president of Beijing Institute of Technology, and Ebrahim Al Hajri, president of Khalifa University

Ebrahim Al Hajri, president of Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the university's vice president for external relations Ashraf Al Najdawi visited Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) on April 7.

Jiang Lan, BIT's president, welcomed Al Hajri and his delegation and talked about the high-quality development of BIT as well as the enhanced level of cooperation between the university and UAE universities, research institutes, and government agencies in recent years. He pointed out that, as a model of Sino-Arab higher education cooperation, the two universities have collaborated closely in talent cultivation and scientific research. The international joint laboratories established by the two universities have achieved significant results in international scientific competitions and cutting-edge technology research.

Jiang said he looked forward to expanding multidimensional cooperation based on jointly building a "green technology center" and a "technology commercialization process system", as well as pursuing a "dual-campus dual-degree" training program in the fields of engineering and management.

Al Hajri thanked BIT for the warm welcome and mentioned that his visit to BIT was his first engagement in China as Khalifa president.

He said he was impressed by BIT's prowess in areas such as technological innovation, talent cultivation, and international cooperation. As a research-oriented university in UAE, Khalifa has been actively promoting the integration of industry and education, as well as the transformation of research outcomes in recent years, dedicating itself to serving the country's energy transition and technological development goals.

Al Hajri emphasized the importance Khalifa places on cooperation with China, and particularly collaboration with BIT. He said he looked forward to further expanding the breadth and depth of cooperation in research, faculty and student exchanges, and discipline construction, aiming to drive new breakthroughs in Sino-Arab higher education cooperation.

A number of agreements on research collaboration mechanisms and expanding faculty and student exchange programs were signed during the visit.