On the afternoon of April 11, the Launch Ceremony of ZJUI was held at Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University. Chancellor Barbara J. Wilson and Vice Provost Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela from UIUC, Party Chief Jin Deshui, President Wu Zhaohui and Vice President Ying Yibin from Zhejiang University, leaders of Haining City and Felix Salazar, Information Officer of the Consulate General of the United States in Shanghai, were present at the Launch Ceremony. At the Ceremony, President Wu Zhaohui and Chancellor Barbara J. Wilson delivered speeches. Party Chief Jin Deshui and Chancellor Barbara J. Wilson jointly unveiled the plate for the Institute. Professor Li Erping, one of the first specially appointed professors in the National Recruitment Program of Global Experts and Deputy Director of the Faculty of Information Science, Zhejiang University, and Professor Philip Krein, a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a senior professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UIUC were appointed respectively as the Dean and the Executive Dean of ZJU-UIUC Institute.
Plaque unveiling
ZJUI is a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run institution established by Zhejiang University in cooperation with a high-level US university. The Institute will build on the academic strengths, cultural endowment and educational philosophy of the two famous universities, represent the strong partnership of the two universities in engineering, introduce quality educational resources from UIUC, and jointly explore the new models for talent cultivation. The Institute will begin with four majors, namely mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and automation, electronics and computer engineering, and civil engineering. Qualified students can graduate from the joint institute with dual degrees.
"Meeting Presidents, Sharing Insights"
In the “Meeting with Presidents” following the Launch Ceremony, President Wu Zhaohui and Vice President Ying Yibin from Zhejiang University, Chancellor Barbara J. Wilson and Professor Andreas Cangellaris, Dean of College of Engineering from UIUC respectively introduced the education at the two universities and the Institute, and exchanged ideas with students and parents. During the open class, Professor Mats A. Selen, US Professor of the Year, 2015 and Professor Andreas Cangellaris lectured high school students respectively on “Innovative Approaches to Teaching Physics” and “How Engineering Makes the World a Better Place”.
Open lectures
The newly established ZJUI is to be located at the International Campus of Zhejiang University in Haining. At the International Campus, Zhejiang University will carry out institutional cooperation in education with world-class universities, including UIUC, to explore the educational model combining Eastern and Western strengths, promote frontier interdisciplinary innovations and serve the economic, cultural and social progress in China and even the whole world. ZJUE and ZJUI will enroll the first group of students on the International Campus in September, 2016.