The MOU Signing and Unveiling Ceremony of NanjingTech-NUT Joint Center of Research and Development between Nanjing Tech University and Nanyang Technological University was held in C501 of Science & Innovation Building, Dingjiaqiao Campus on January 5th, 2015. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Freddy Boey, NTU Deputy President and Provost and his delegation, Academician and President Prof. Huang Wei, Vice President Prof. Qiao Xu, Vice President Prof. Jiang Juncheng, Vice President Prof. Cui Yihu, Vice President Prof. Gong Jianming, Assistant President Prof. He Xuejun and other administrators of related departments.
President Huang Wei extended his welcome to Prof. Freddy Boey in his speech and pointed out that China and Singapore are both Chinese communities that share the same cultural and ideological heritage and the two countries maintain a close and friendly relationship with each other. Singapore became one of the Four Asian Tigers by encouraging original innovations which could be a great illumination for us. Nanyang Technological University has made great achievement in two decades and accumulated much valuable experience. In the recent ten years in particular, Nanyang Technological University achieved leaping development and ranked 39thin the QS Ranking in 2014 by recruiting large number of world-class scientists and teams which rapidly enhanced the level of NTU's discipline construction. The extraordinary development of Nanyang Technological University offers valuable experience for NanjingTech to learn from. NanjingTech and NTU have solid foundation for cooperation and the all-round collaboration is in line with the development of both universities and the development of world higher education. President Huang said the successful experience of NTU illustrates that the key factor of university development is talents. China has made great achievements through reform and opening-up. China has become the second largest economy in the world and this provides strong support for Chinese universities in their pursuit of excellence. Globalization is the inevitable course towards first-class universities and NanjingTech will endeavor to recruit top-level scientist, build strong academic teams and speed up the wheels of development. NanjingTech has entered a critical stage in its course of building a "Comprehensive, Research-Oriented and Globalized" university. The key factor of leaping development lies in talent. NanjingTech will integrate globalization into talent cultivation, scientific research, social service and cultural heritage and carry out cooperation with overseas universities, research institutions and industries with broader vision, opener mind and more active measures in order to realize the unconventional development by laying solid discipline foundation and forming the discipline plateau in a short period of time.
Prof. Freddy Boey expressed his gratitude for our warm reception and gave a high appraisal to the achievement of NanjingTech. He believes that NanjingTech will become a first-class university in the world through persistent efforts because it has strong comprehensive strength, excellent research conditions and enterprising faculties. He speaks highly of President Huang Wei who made great contribution to the research of materials as a world top scientist in optoelectronics during his work in Singapore. He thinks that President Huang is leading a team of top researchers with the ambition of pursuing excellence and the resolution of striving for the best. He said 2015 is an important year for both China and Singapore. With the development of world economic and political pattern, Asia, East Asia in particular, is becoming increasingly important. The former "east to west" Talent Flow is changing gradually and China and Singapore have become important destinations for global talents. As Prof. Freddy Boey pointed out, the secret of NTU's leaping development lies in its recruitment of high-end talents. The most valuable asset of a university is its talents. He advises NanjingTech to recruit top talents throughout the world and build high-level teams of faculty, students and management. The NanjingTech-NUT Joint Center of Research and Development is the second research center of NTU after NTU's first Joint Research center with Peking University in 2013. He sincerely wishes that the Joint Center of Research and Development will facilitate the cooperation between two universities in talent cultivation, research innovations and industry application and make greater contribution to the development of Jiangsu science and technology and the higher education of China and Singapore.
Both universities also held in-depth and fruitful discussions in talent cultivation, scientific research, discipline construction and recruitment of faculty. Both universities agree that NanjingTech-NUT Joint Center of Research and Development will escalate the sporadic and individual cooperation into collective and all-round cooperation which will promote the synergetic development of both through science & technology innovation and transfer.
Finally, in the witness of all guests and media, Academician and President Huang Wei and Prof. Freddy Boey signed the MOU of NanjingTech-NUT Joint Center of Research and Development.
