A Memorandum of Understanding between UCAS and University of Chile (Universidad de Chile), together with the related student exchange agreement, were signed on the morning of Nov. 2. Prof. Wang Yanfen, Executive Vice President of UCAS, met with Prof. Ennio Véjar, Rector of University of Chile, at the Yuquanlu campus. Prof. Hu Baoyang, Executive Director of Savaid Meidical School of UCAS and Prof. Zhao Gongbo, Director of Department of Astronomy of UCAS also attended the meeting.
Wang Yanfen welcomed Prof. Véjar. She briefed the guests on the history and development of graduate education at CAS, the unique method of integrating research and teaching at UCAS, and the development of UCAS overseas centers for research and education. She noted that the cooperation between CAS and University of Chile has been fruitful since the establishment of the South American center for Astronomy of CAS in 2013. She hoped the visit by Rector Véjar and the signing of agreements would promote specific collaborative activities.
Prof. Véjar thanked UCAS for the warm reception. He said the visit to UCAS Yanqihu campus the previous day was impressive. He praised the SDC (Sino-Danish Center for Research and Education) program as a model of cooperation. After showing slides of the layout of the new campus of University of Chile , Prof. Véjar expressed his wish for further cooperation between his university and UCAS in fields including astronomy, medical science and biology.
Prof. Hu Baoyang, Executive Director of Savaid Meidical School of UCAS, and Prof. Zhao Gongbo, Director of Department of Astronomy of UCAS, gave a brief introduction to their sections, respectively.
Both parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the related student exchange agreement after the meeting. According to the MOU, UCAS and the University of Chile will promote cooperation activities such as student and faculty exchange, joint publication, as well as holding joint seminar and joint curriculum development projects.
The University of Chile is a public university in Santiago, Chile. It is the oldest and the most prestigious in Chile and has a rich history in academics, scientific research, and social outreach. The university seeks to solve national and regional issues and to contribute to the development of Chile. It is recognized as one of the best universities Latin America for its leadership and innovation in science, technology, social sciences, and arts through the functions of creation, extension, teaching, and research.
Its five campuses comprise more than 3.1 square kilometers of research buildings, health care centers, museums, theaters, observatories, and sports infrastructure. The institution has more than 40,000 undergraduate and graduate students, offering 69 different bachelor and professional degrees, 38 doctoral programs and 116 master’s programs. It is a member university of APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities), the same as UCAS.
South America Center for Astronomy, CAS, was established when CAS signed an agreement with the University of Chile in Oct. 2013. Mr. Bai Chunli, President of CAS, was conferred an honorary doctoral degree by the University of Chile when he attended the signing ceremony of the agreement and the unveiling ceremony of the center. The National Astronomical Observatories of CAS (NAOC) was awarded the honorary title of “the International Scientific Organization in Chile” by the government of Chile, under the assistance of the University of Chile in 2016.
By Xia Yu
