On the morning of June 23, Hainan International College of Northeast Forestry University held a cooperation negotiation meeting with a delegation led by Associate Dean Manfredo Manfredini from the School of Architecture and Planning, the University of Auckland, New Zealand, at the Lingshui Li’an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone in Hainan. Liu Zhiming, Dean of Hainan International College and Aulin College, Ma Rui, Vice Dean, and Yan Lin, Section Chief of the Development and Cooperation Office of Aulin College, attended the bilateral symposium on furthering cooperation with the University of Auckland in Conference Room 211 of the Public Teaching Building. Wang Jinghong, Dean of the Landscape Architecture College, and Mao Liang, Vice Dean, participated in the meeting online. All participants conducted in-depth discussions on the joint master’s training programs in landscape architecture and urban and rural planning, interdisciplinary research collaboration, and the co-construction of international teaching systems. The meeting aims to establish a higher education cooperation model featuring global vision and local characteristics, so as to meet the talent demands of the Hainan Free Trade Port construction and the Belt and Road Initiative.
During the negotiation, both sides confirmed the official advancement of the academic docking between the two majors of Landscape Architecture and Urban and Rural Planning at Northeast Forestry University and the master’s degree programs in Architecture, Urban Design and Urban Planning at the University of Auckland. The joint training program plans to enroll approximately 40 students annually.
Associate Dean Manfredo Manfredini emphasized that the postgraduate curriculum design will incorporate emerging technology modules such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, focus on the cultivation of students’ scientific research capabilities, and integrate the thesis design with the demands of sponge city construction and ecological protection in Hainan. Dean Wang Jinghong pointed out that localized research topics including urban biodiversity, water resource management and urban renewal and renovation can be embedded in the curriculum, so as to achieve the training objective of integrating international standards with localized practice.
Subsequently, both parties conducted in-depth discussions on student mobility and teaching coherence. Aulin College plans to launch a two-week study tour and internship program for 15 students at the University of Auckland in late July 2025. The two sides also discussed the feasibility of the two-week overseas study and practice program for Landscape Architecture students, and intend to resolve students’ practical teaching problems through curriculum recognition and credit mutual recognition.
The cooperation extends far beyond student exchange, focusing more on institutional collaborative development. The two universities exchanged views on faculty dispatch matters, aiming to establish a normalized mechanism for faculty exchange, joint curriculum development and resource sharing. Hainan International College hopes to expand summer exchange programs for undergraduate students in the future, focusing on practical themes such as tropical landscape design and urban renewal and transformation, so as to enhance students’ cross-cultural practical capabilities.
In terms of scientific research cooperation, both parties identified urban biodiversity and urban renewal and renovation as the first batch of key cooperative directions, and promoted interdisciplinary research integration among faculty through joint postgraduate training. Associate Dean Manfredo Manfredini stated that as a top-tier university in New Zealand, the University of Auckland expects to advance the international innovation of architecture and planning disciplines through in-depth cooperation with Hainan International College of Northeast Forestry University.(Written and Photographed by Xue Yuhang)
