From July 5thto 8th, 2018, the 3rd BRICS Network University Conference was held in South Africa, and the delegation from Hohai University attended the conference. More than 100 officials from the ministries of education of BRICS (China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa), as well as expects and scholars from over 30 BRICS Network University (BRICS NU) members attended the conference.
The conference invited representatives from the ministries of education of BRICS, partner institutions and expects from six knowledge fields. It was held by Stellenbosch University with the theme of “Unlocking BRICS Universities’ Partnerships: Postgraduate Education Opportunities and Challenges”. The conference was organized around the six thematic areas identified for the BRICS NU, namely: Energy; Computer Science and Information Security; Ecology and Climate Change; Economics; Water Resources and Pollution Treatment; as well as BRICS Studies. The objective is to provide a platform for the BRICS countries, notably, leaders of International Thematic Groups to share research experiences and country specific insights in these knowledge fields and explore possibilities on how the BRICS cooperation could be leveraged to strengthen scientific knowledge in these areas.
Hohai University’s Ya Zhu, Deputy Dean at College of Distance & Continuing Education, Professor Li Yiping of College of Environment, and Helin Shen of International Office, participated in the Plenary. Professor Yiping Li, as an expect of Water Resources and Pollution Treatment, attended International Thematic Groups Session, and has agreed on cooperation content and work plan in the field of Water Resources and Pollution Treatment.During the conference, the delegation from Hohai University negotiated on the possibilities of cooperation in students exchanges, joint cultivation and scientific research, with the delegation from University of Cape Town, University of Western Cape, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, University Foundation of Government of India, Ministry of Human Resources and so on. A preliminary cooperation intention was reached.
On July 8th, the delegation from Hohai University visited University of Cape Town. Vice Chancellor Dr. Michael Kyobe and Dr.Wilna Wenter of Scientific Research Cooperation Office exchanged views with Hohai University’s delegation on the development of both sides and the status quo of sustainable development of water resources in China and South Africa. Both parties indicated that Hohai University and University of Cape Town can fit very well in scientific research and students exchanges and hoped an in-depth cooperation can be carried out in the future.
BRICS NU was developed in the BRICS 7thsummit in Russia in July 2015, under a Russian proposal of the establishment of BRICS NU, which was written into Ufa Declaration.In December 2015, Ministry of Education approved Hohai University as one of the 11 Chinese Universities in the BRICS NU project to cooperate in the knowledge areas of Water Pollution and Treatment, as well as Energy.
