Tianjin Chengjian University (TCU) is committed to aligning with the national development strategy, promoting high-level educational opening-up, serving the major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and continuously expanding educational exchanges and cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road. From July 11th to 13th, Prof. Andrzej SZARATA, Rector of Cracow University of Technology (CUT) from Poland, led a delegation to visit TCU. During their visit, the delegation held talks with President Bai Haili, Vice President Wang Zhongliang, and deans of relevant schools. The delegation visited relevant schools and laboratories, held meetings with TCU faculty and student representatives, and conducted in-depth discussions on teaching management at International School of Engineering (ISE).
On July 12th, Bai Haili and Wang Zhongliang met with the guests. Bai Haili warmly welcomed the delegation, and introduced the university’s overview and important achievements in recent years. Bai Haili emphasized that the year of 2023 marked the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road, and the visit held significant importance for the two universities to enhance mutual understanding, consolidate cooperation, foster cultural exchanges between China and Poland, and promote the prosperous development of the educational cooperation along the Belt and Road.
Andrzej SZARATA mentioned that CUT attached great importance to cooperation with TCU, which was the first Chinese university he visited since assuming office. He hoped that in the future, the two universities could maintain a close communication mechanism, deepen cooperation and exchange, and work together to establish ISE, the Chinse-foreign cooperative institution, as a model of educational cooperation between China and Poland. He expressed the wish that the two universities could initiate comprehensive cooperation, collaborate on technological innovation, and continuously elevate the level of cooperation based on high-quality development of joint talent training.
Later on, the relevant schools of the two universities presented overviews of their respective educational characteristics, and the International Cooperation Offices of both sides reached a consensus on future internationalization strategy and cooperation prospects.
On the afternoon of July 12th, the delegation visited TCU School of Architecture, School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Engineering Training Center. Members of the delegation gained a more comprehensive understanding of the educational philosophy and disciplinary characteristics of TCU through visits to design works and teaching achievements exhibition by students jointly cultivated by teachers from China and Poland, the ceramic works exhibition, the BIM Hyperconverged Infrastructure, National Engineering Research Center for Utilization of Construction Solid Waste Resources, Tianjin Key Laboratory for Civil Building Structure Protection and Reinforcement, among other places.
On the morning of July 13th, the delegation met with TCU faculty and student representatives, offering a detailed introduction to CUT and its long-term and short-term international exchange programs. More than 300 teachers and students fromTCU participated in the meeting, both online and offline. During the session, the delegation interacted with the participants, addressing their concerns regarding the European architects accreditation system and master's and Ph.D. studies at CUT, among other topics.
On the afternoon of July 13th, the delegation held a themed meeting with TCU International Cooperation Office, ISE, and TCU School of Architecture. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions and reached a consensus on issues related to teaching management mechanism, curriculum planning, graduation defense mode, and CUT teachers working at TCU, etc.
In recent years,TCU has been actively promoting the construction of a new pattern of international exchange and cooperation while expanding high-level and featured development platforms. ISE at TCU, a Chinese-foreign cooperative institution jointly established by TCU, CUT and Bialystok University of Technology(BUT) from Poland, aims to cultivate international versatile engineering talents with a broad international vision, innovative ideas and practical ability. ISE at TCU and Faculty of Architecture at CUT jointly cultivate undergraduate and master's students in architecture and landscape architecture. Currently, the number of jointly-cultivated students has reached nearly 400. Since its establishment in September 2020, ISE at TCU has been relying on the high-quality educational resources of the two universities, integrating the educational concepts of China and Poland, actively promoting the integration of different engineering educational systems of China and Europe at ISE, and continuously exploring the international training path for new engineering talents at TCU. The visit of CUT delegation provided an excellent opportunity for the two universities to jointly promote high-quality development of cooperative education and explore mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, laying a solid foundation for promoting high-quality internationalization of TCU.
CUT, founded in 1946, is a national university boasting nearly 80 years of academic tradition, ranking third in Poland. The university consists of eight faculties, including the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, etc. The programs of Architecture and Urban Planning rank first in Poland. Architecture program is accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and Landscape Architecture program is accredited by the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) in Europe. CUT was awarded with the highest scientific category A+ for the Faculty of Architecture in the latest evaluation results of scientific disciplines at Polish universities and research institutes.
TCU has been actively responding to the Belt and Road initiative. In 2013, the university established partnership with BUT. In 2014, TCU joined the China-CEEC Higher Education Institutions Consortium, a consortium formed by universities from China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries. Up until now, TCU has successively carried out cooperative programs with more than 50 universities from 23 countries, including Chinese-foreign cooperative program, Chinese-foreign cooperative institution, articulation programs, long-term and short-term student exchange programs,etc. TCU has been actively developing partnerships with countries along the Belt and Road, jointly building a culturally inclusive community with shared interests, shared future, and shared responsibility. In the future, TCU will continue to strengthen the cultivation of international talents, establish a high-quality brand of “TCU International Education”, and attract outstanding overseas students to study at TCU relying on its pillar disciplines.TCU will continuously make intensive efforts to jointly conduct national exchange programs with countries along the Belt and Road, explore the establishment of a joint training mechanism, and form a notable international educational cooperation brand featuring urban construction.
