On the afternoon of November 20th, 2014, Dr. Matsuo Uemura, Vice President of Iwate University visited PKU, along with other professors and staff from Iwate University. PKU Vice President Dr. Li Yansong met the guests at Linhuxuan，accompanied by Guo Hongwei, Vice Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Ding Li, Associate Professor of the Japanese Department at the PKU School of Foreign Languages.
Vice President Li extended a warm welcome to the guests and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Iwate University for its efforts in strengthening the collaboration among PKU, Iwate University and Shihezi University in Xinjiang Province. He pointed out that the platform established by the three schools had been running for years and the joint efforts had already borne fruit.
Dr. Matsuo expressed his heartfelt thanks for the warm reception. He hoped that the connection amongst the three universities could grow even stronger and that there would be more student exchanges amongst them. Collaboration in agricultural study had already made considerable achievements due to the strength of animal husbandry research in Xinjiang Province. He hoped to raise the level of collaboration in the area of life sciences, especially in botany and molecular biology.
Vice President Li fully agreed with Dr. Matsuo. Li stressed that one of the most efficient ways to enhance their relationship was to initiate more exchange programs and provide exchange students with convenience as much as possible, such as reducing tuition fees and waiving accommodation charges. Nevertheless, there has yet to be a concrete agreement on the exchange program between PKU and Iwate University. Dr. Matsuo presented a draft of the agreement to Vice President Li in the hope that they could have further discussion on it.
Towards the end of the meeting, both sides exchanged gifts. Vice President Li also invited Iwate University to join the Japan Education Briefing Session next year, which is an annual event that invites numerous renowned Japanese universities, vocational colleges and language training schools to PKU to share about studying in Japan.
Written by Xin Yuan
Edited by Chia Wai Kian
