On the afternoon of April 8, 2015, Peter-André Alt, President of the Free University of Berlin (FUB) and Klaus Mühlhahn, Vice President of FUB, along with Markus Wahl, Professor of the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Andreas Wanke, Director of Sustainability and the Energy Management Unit, Karola Braun-Wanke, Collaborator of the Young Leaners Program, and Beate Rogler, Director of the Beijing Office of FUB, visited Peking University (PKU). They were received at Linhuxuan by Lin Jianhua, President of PKU and Li Yansong, Vice President of PKU. Other attendees include: Xue Ling, Deputy Director of the Office of Development and Planning, Shao Min, Deputy Dean of the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Jiang Guohua, Deputy Dean of Graduate School, Qin Xuezheng, Assistant Dean of the School of Economics; Professor Chen Hongjie of Graduate School of Education, Yin Chao, Principal of the Affiliated Primary School, Zheng Ruqing, Deputy Director of the PKU Office of International Relations, and Li Yun, Deputy Director of Office of International Relations. Delegates from both sides engaged in a friendly discussion regarding collaboration between the two universities.
President Lin first extended a warm welcome to the FUB delegation and complimented FUB on its achievements. Then, Peter-André Alt, who gave a general summary of FUB, noted that FUB and PKU share similar interests and values, which are of great importance to long-term collaboration. He added that approximately forty Chinese were admitted to PhD programs at FUB, whose extraordinary performance had left a deep impression on him—especially in the natural sciences. Afterward, delegates participated in a discussion of potential collaboration opportunities between PKU and FUB and introduced some programs.
An introduction to the Yenching Academy was given following the one-hour meeting. Peter-André Alt stressed that FUB encourages students to study abroad and that the Yenching Academy is undoubtedly among the best choices for FUB students. He was confident that foreign students’ interest in China and the Yenching Academy would both grow.
Delegates from FUB and PKU reached an agreement on the building of a stronger relationship and forging further collaboration through discussion. The presidents of the two universities exchanged gifts after the meeting.
Written by: Liu Meina
