On May 6, a delegation led by Dr. Heather Bruce, Principal of Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus, visited FAFU. Lai Hairong, Chair of the University Council, Lan Siren, FAFU’s President, and Zheng Baodong, FAFU’s Vice President held discussions with the delegation on deepening cooperative education and promoting sustainable development.
Lai Hairong in Discussion with Dr. Heather Bruce
In a meeting at the Mingde Building, Lai Hairong extended his heartfelt welcome to Dr. Bruce on her first visit since assuming office as dean and campus principal, and introduced FAFU’s international cooperation achievements and development goals. He emphasized the historical tradition of Sino-Canadian agricultural collaboration, noting that the 23-year partnership between the two universities has set an exemplary model in educational resource sharing, joint education, and scientific innovation.
Lai emphasized that the two universities should maintain their focus on serving the development of economy and modern agricultural industries in both countries. By leveraging international collaboration to empower academic innovation and education, the two universities should establish a more systematic education and dialogue mechanism for cooperative development. He also highlighted the potential to further strengthen the friendly ties between Fujian Province and Nova Scotia to inject new impetus into China-Canada cultural exchanges.
Communication between Dr. Heather Bruce and Lan Siren
Lan Siren met with the delegation in the VIP lounge, proposing to leverage the FAFU-Dal Joint College as a platform for exploring joint programs of graduate education in food science, veterinary medicine, landscape architecture, and agricultural economics. He advocated for upgrading the partnership from project-based cooperation to an institutionalized collaboration model to jointly build an integrated international education system and create a globally competitive hub for high-level agricultural education.
Dr. Heather Bruce expressed gratitude for the hospitality and applauded the fruitful cooperation between the two universities. She reaffirmed Dalhousie Agricultural Campus’s commitment to the partnership and expressed eagerness to explore mutually beneficial collaborations across various fields. She also pledged support for expanding FAFU’s academic exchanges, research cooperation, and joint education programs with other faculties at Dalhousie University and Canadian institutions.
During the visit, the delegation toured the Colleges of Animal Science, Food Science, Economics and Management, and Landscape Architecture and Art, as well as the FAFU-Dal Joint College, engaging in discussions of cooperative potentials across different disciplines. They also visited FAFU’s history museum and key laboratories to enhance understanding of FAFU and its academic strengths.
Heads of FAFU’s General Office and the International Cooperation and Exchange Office attended the meetings.
Correspondant:Office of International Cooperation and Exchange Yu Lu
Photogragher: Publicity Department GaoYan
Translators: Chen Jun, International College
Xie Xinyi, International College