On the morning of March 23, Professor Robert Kozak, Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, led a delegation to visit and conduct research at Hainan International College. Professor Sun Long, Member of the Standing Committee of the University Party Committee, Assistant to the University President and Party Secretary of the College of Forestry, together with responsible officials from Hainan International College, the College of Forestry and the International Cooperation Office, attended the symposium. The meeting was presided over by Professor Liu Zhiming, Dean of Hainan International College.
At the meeting, Sun Long extended a warm welcome to Professor Robert Kozak and his delegation. He pointed out that Northeast Forestry University boasts profound academic accumulation in forestry science and ecological civilization construction. Relying on the policy and geographical advantages of Hainan Free Trade Port and Hainan International Education Innovation Island, Hainan International College serves as a key platform for the University to advance high-level international education, undertaking the important mission of innovating talent cultivation models and enhancing global influence. He noted that the proposed Sino-foreign cooperative programs feature the advantageous disciplines of both universities with high compatibility. Benefiting from the University’s solid foundation in international cooperative education and sound preliminary exchanges, both sides have established a solid cooperative foundation. He expressed the hope that taking this negotiation as an opportunity, the two parties would further integrate high-quality educational resources, deepen in-depth cooperation in joint curriculum development, faculty exchange and joint student training, continuously expand the breadth and depth of cooperation, jointly support the development of international forestry undertakings, and contribute to global ecological civilization construction.
Professor Robert Kozak thanked the College for the warm reception. He stated that the University of British Columbia has rich experience in teaching and scientific research in the fields of forestry and environmental management, and looks forward to conducting multi-level cooperation with Northeast Forestry University based on respective strengths to jointly promote the international development of forestry education.
Liu Zhiming, Dean of Hainan International College, introduced the overview of Lingshui Li’an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone, as well as the development positioning, educational advantages and international development layout of Hainan International College. He stated that leveraging the development opportunities of Hainan Free Trade Port, the College has continuously advanced international education layout and deepened cooperative education with overseas universities. Combining the University’s disciplinary strengths, he elaborated on detailed information of the proposed Sino-foreign cooperative education program with UBC, including institutional setup, offered majors, educational levels, talent cultivation models, basic requirements for dual student enrollment and the term of cooperation. Zhang Peng, Dean of the College of Forestry, introduced the college’s disciplinary development, talent cultivation achievements and scientific research outputs, with a focus on its strengths and characteristics in forest resource cultivation, ecological protection and restoration.
On the afternoon of March 23, accompanied by Liu Ming, Member of the Party Committee, Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Executive Deputy Director of the Pilot Zone Administration, the UBC delegation visited the pilot zone’s teaching facilities, faculty apartments, student living quarters and library to gain an on-site understanding of the campus’s educational conditions and construction achievements. A joint symposium was held among the Pilot Zone Administration, the University of British Columbia and Northeast Forestry University, which clarified the zone’s teaching services and logistical support guarantees, and established the operational mechanism of “five mutual connections and one joint governance”, including interdisciplinary integration, liberal arts and science integration, mutual course selection, mutual credit recognition, Sino-foreign mutual learning, and collaborative administrative consultation.
Throughout the two-day negotiations from March 23 to 24, the two sides confirmed core cooperation details, including the name of the proposed cooperative institution, offered disciplines, educational levels, talent cultivation models, basic requirements for dual student enrollment, and the term of cooperation. Both parties conducted in-depth deliberations on the articles of association, institutional cooperation agreement and financial management agreement, and reached a comprehensive cooperation consensus.
The series of negotiations has laid a solid foundation for substantive bilateral cooperation. UBC representatives explicitly pledged to accelerate the preparatory work for the institutional application of the Sino-foreign cooperative education program and the formulation of follow-up talent cultivation plans, so as to jointly facilitate the high-quality international development of forestry education.
