Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Proofread by: Ian Heuer
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the afternoon of April 15, 2016, Professor Lawrence Young, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, visited Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU). Prof. Wei Minghai, Vice President of SYSU, met with Professor Young, accompanied by Prof. Qian Chaonan, Vice President of SYSU’s Cancer Center, Prof. Zhang Yanmei, Associate Dean of Lingnan College, Mr. Fan Ruiquan, Deputy Director of SYSU’s Office of Scientific Research and Development, and Ms. Xu Yao, Deputy Director of the Office of International Cooperation & Exchange at SYSU.

Vice President Wei Minghai extended a warm welcome to Professor Young, and introduced SYSU’s history, campus construction and disciplinary strengths. He was eager to introduce the latest developments at SYSU and to explore potential avenues for new collaboration with the University of Warwick.

Professor Young mentioned that he has visited SYSU many times and remarked that SYSU is the University of Warwick’s “best friend in China.” He introduced his colleagues, Prof. Wang Qing of the Warwick Business School and Mr. James Kennedy, Director of the University of Warwick’s International Office, and expressed optimism that existing cooperation could be strengthened and new paths for cooperation could be found.

After the meeting, Professor Young held an in-depth meeting with Professor Qian from SYSU’s Cancer Center. The two professors have enjoyed a long history of working together in the field of cancer research and greeted each other like old friends. Professor Qian visited England last autumn to sign an agreement on cooperation with the University of Warwick, which coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to England. They discussed new developments at SYSU, such as the construction of the Shenzhen Campus, and exchanged status reports on current collaborative efforts.

Later, Professor Young continued on to Lingnan College, where he attended meetings between the University of Warwick delegation and Lingnan College’s Dean Xu Xinzhong and Associate Dean Zhang Yanmei.

The University of Warwick was founded in 1965 and is located in Coventry, England. The university ranks 48th in the world according to the QS World University Rankings 2016, with particularly high rankings in humanities and social sciences fields. In addition to his administrative duties at the University of Warwick, Professor Young is also a world-renowned virologist.