Prof. Alan M. Garber, Provost of Harvard University, visited Peking University on Monday, December 16, 2013. Prof. Wang Enge, President of Peking University, met the guests at Lin Hu Xuan, accompanied by Dr. Li Yansong, Vice President of PKU and, Prof. Li Chenjian, Vice Dean of the School of Life Sciences, and Dr. Xia Hongwei, Director of the Office of International Relations.
President Wang first warmly welcomed Provost Garber and his colleagues. He then gave a brief introduction to the historical background and present situation of Peking University, including the number of teachers and students, departments and disciplines and current planning etc. President Wang highlighted the development of Peking University Health Science Center, including faculty members and their principal duties. He added that Peking University has eight affiliated hospitals located in Beijing, Shenzhen and other parts of China. At present, a new international hospital is under construction, which is scheduled to be completed in September, 2014.
Provost Garber expressed warm congratulations and highly praised Peking University as a world-renowned school. Then, he briefly introduced Harvard University. Both parties mainly exchanged their views on the management and development of medical schools and discussed the teaching and researching of professors in detail. Besides, they also talked about various collaborations including business schools etc.
Furthermore, President Wang spoke of students going to America for further study, referring to the fact that some students may change their majors to more challenging ones. Prof. Garber showed his support for students to study in different fields, pointing out that this will help to broaden horizons, increase their knowledge and further understanding of their needs. In addition, they shared their opinions on education of senior school students, and online open courses.
At the end of the meeting, the two parties exchanged gifts and took a group photo together.
Written by: Yuan Yating
