On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations and the 20th anniversary of the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, President Wang Yunpeng led a delegation on a working visit to France and Spain from December 8 to 13.

INNOVATING CHINA-FRANCE COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION MODELS

In Lyon, France, Wang Yunpeng and Gérard Creuzet, Member of the French Academy of Technologies, co-chaired the third plenary meeting of the Beihang China-Europe Cooperation Committee as joint chairs. The meeting reviewed the important achievements made by the committee over the past year in deepening cooperative education with Europe, expanding collaborative projects, and recruiting international faculty. It also outlined the university's key tasks for China-Europe cooperation in 2026.

The third plenary meeting of the Beihang China-Europe Cooperation Committee

Wang Yunpeng emphasized that the committee should continue to consolidate the foundation of existing cooperative education programs, seize the cooperation opportunities brought by the high-level mutual visits between China, France and Spain in 2025, further strengthen cooperation mechanisms, and enhance the quality of education. He also called for fully leveraging the partnership and resource advantages of the committee to actively expand in-depth scientific research collaboration with European partners, and continuously broaden channels for student exchanges and study visits, thereby providing a more extensive platform for students to pursue learning and exchange opportunities in Europe.

The Beihang delegation visited École Centrale de Lyon, where President Wang Yunpeng met with Romain Soubeyran, President of the Groupe des Écoles Centrales; Pascal Ray, Director of École Centrale de Lyon; and Gilles Fleury, General Delegate of the Groupe des Écoles Centrales. The two sides convened the 34th Joint Management Committee Meeting of the Sino-French Engineer School.

Wang Yunpeng noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Sino-French Engineer School. Over the past year, the two sides have achieved breakthroughs in engineering talent cultivation, joint laboratory construction, and hosting international conferences, which signifies that their cooperation has reached a new stage. Looking ahead, he expressed the hope that the school will continue to optimize its operational mechanisms and deepen the talent training model based on industry-education integration.

Wang Yunpeng and Romain Soubeyran witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Master's Degree Programs between the two universities

At the meeting, in the presence of Wang Yunpeng and Romain Soubeyran, Zhao Weisheng, Vice President of Beihang University, and Gilles Fleury signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Master's Degree Programs.

The delegation also visited the French National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) Lyon, and held talks with Frédéric Fotiadu, Director of INSA Lyon, and Damien Fabrègue, Vice President of INSA Lyon. The two parties co-chaired the first meeting of the Beihang-INSA Cooperation Committee, conducting in-depth discussions on the development of the Beihang INSA Institute for Applied Sustainable Sciences and Technology (BIFAST), inter-university personnel exchanges and cooperation, and the cultivation of international talent.

The first meeting of the Beihang-INSA cooperation committee

Wang Yunpeng fully affirmed the important cooperation outcomes achieved by the two sides over the past year. In particular, the approval and successful launch of the first enrollment of BIFAST demonstrated the solid progress made by the two universities in deepening mutual trust and pursuing collaborative development. He hoped that the cooperation committee would improve the collaborative mechanism, and advance the sustainable cooperation between the two universities.

During the visit, Wang Yunpeng and Frédéric Fotiadu signed an agreement on joint engineering degree programs and visited the i-Factory Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base of INSA Lyon.

In Lyon, the delegation also held a working meeting on the Zhongfa Aviation Institute with the Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (ENAC).

CREATING A HIGH-LEVEL PLATFORM FOR CHINA-SPAIN ENGINEERING TALENT CULTIVATION

In Madrid, Spain, the delegation led by Wang Yunpeng visited the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), where they met with Oscar García, Rector of UPM, Luis Salgado, Vice Rector for International Relations, and Luis Gomez, Vice Rector for Research and Doctoral Studies. Oscar García fully affirmed the fruitful achievements of the two universities in faculty research collaboration and joint master's degree programs, and spoke highly of the outstanding performance of Beihang students. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in establishing joint institutions, promoting industry-academia-research integration, and cultivating high-caliber international talent.

Beihang delegation visits UPM

Wang Yunpeng reviewed the pragmatic cooperation between the two universities in nearly two decades. He pointed out that UPM is one of Beihang's most important strategic partners in Europe. Over the past year, the two sides have maintained close exchanges and carried out fruitful scientific research cooperation in such fields as automation, computer science, and economics and management. He expressed the hope that both parties would further expand in-depth collaboration in talent cultivation and scientific research innovation in the future, contributing wisdom and strength to addressing global challenges.

Wang Yunpeng and Oscar García sign Framework Agreement on Joint Doctoral Degree Programs

During the visit, Wang Yunpeng and Oscar García jointly signed a Framework Agreement on Joint Doctoral Degree Programs, marking a new stage in talent cultivation cooperation between the two universities.

Subsequently, Wang Yunpeng and Oscar García inaugurated the Beihang-UPM Joint Research Center for Data Science. Initiated jointly by the School of Computer Science and Engineering of both universities in 2019, the center pools the outstanding research strengths of both sides in data intelligence theory and applications, committed to conducting strategic and original research and exploring an innovation model of industry-academia-research collaboration. Wang Yunpeng noted that the establishment of the research center represents a new milestone in the cooperation between the two universities, and he hoped that it would grow into a hub attracting top global scholars, a platform for generating significant research outcomes, and an accelerator for all-round cooperation between the two parties.

During their stay in Madrid, faculty members from the School of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering, and Hangzhou International Institute for Innovation (H3I) organized two bilateral academic seminars with their UPM counterparts. More than 30 faculty members and researchers from both sides participated in the seminars, conducting in-depth discussions on topics covering computer science, data science, aero-engine technology, and fluid mechanics.

In Valencia, Spain, Wang Yunpeng and the delegation visited the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), where they met with José E. Capilla, Rector of UPV, Jose F. Monserrat, Vice Rector of UPV, Hou Yongfeng, Education Counselor of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Spain, and María del Carmen, Director of Education, Culture and Universities of the Generalitat Valenciana. Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on jointly establishing the Beihang Valencia Polytechnic Institute (BVPI) and the China-Spain Institute for Excellent Engineers, as well as advancing cooperation in education, science, technology, and talent cultivation between the two universities.

During the visit, the two parties co-hosted the Beihang University Day at UPV. In his opening speech, Wang Yunpeng extended sincere gratitude to UPV for the meticulous preparations for Beihang University Day. He noted that in recent years, the cooperation between Beihang and UPV has grown increasingly close, keeping in pace with the development of China-Spain bilateral relations. He expressed the hope that the two universities would take the joint establishment of the BVPI and the China-Spain Institute for Excellent Engineers as an opportunity to build high-end cooperation platforms, deepen collaborative talent training mechanisms, innovate cooperative education models, and jointly create a demonstration hub for digital-intelligence-empowered talent cultivation and scientific and technological cooperation between China and Spain, thus playing an active role in promoting educational, scientific, technological, and talent exchanges between the two countries.

Wang Yunpeng delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Beihang University Day at UPV

In his speech, José E. Capilla stated that UPV attaches great importance to its cooperative ties with Beihang. He emphasized that the collaboration between the two universities is of great significance for advancing global scientific and technological innovation and cultivating international engineering talents. UPV is willing to further expand in-depth cooperation with Beihang in such fields as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and green transportation.

Hou Yongfeng spoke highly of the cooperation achievements between the two universities. He pointed out that high-level educational and scientific cooperation constitutes an important part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Spain, and the Chinese Embassy will continue to support pragmatic cooperation between universities of the two countries.

At the opening ceremony, Wang Yunpeng and José E. Capilla signed six cooperation agreements, including a university-level Memorandum of Understanding, a Student Exchange Agreement, and agreements on the establishment of the China-Spain Joint Laboratory of Intelligent Fluid Mechanics, China-Spain Joint Laboratory of Advanced Computing Systems, China-Spain Joint Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing, and China-Spain Joint Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence.

Wang Yunpeng and José E. Capilla sign the university-level Memorandum of Understanding and Student Exchange Agreement

During the event, Wang Yunpeng and José E. Capilla jointly inaugurated the China-Spain Institute for Excellent Engineers and Beihang University Space.

Wang Yunpeng and José E. Capilla inaugurate the China-Spain Institute for Excellent Engineers

The establishment of the BVPI and the China-Spain Institute for Excellent Engineers is a key initiative in Beihang's two-way international strategy of "going global" and "bringing in". By establishing a two-way exchange mechanism for Chinese and foreign faculty and students and an effective ecosystem for university-enterprise collaborative talent cultivation, these two platforms will play a leading role in deepening the integrated cooperation between China and Europe in education, science, technology, and talent development.

Beihang University Day successfully held at UPV

Representatives from enterprises including Huawei and Horse Powertrain attended Beihang University Day. They expressed their willingness to actively support and deeply participate in the cooperation between the two universities in education, science, technology, and talent cultivation, and jointly promote the integration of industry, academia and research and the construction of an innovation ecosystem.

During Beihang University Day, Beihang and UPV successfully held six bilateral academic seminars covering a wide range of fields such as electronic information, automation, aerospace, computer science, machinery, integrated circuits, and artificial intelligence. More than 60 faculty members from both sides participated in the seminars and conducted in-depth exchanges. In addition, Beihang held a special promotion event themed "Study at Beihang" at UPV.

STRENGTHENING TIES WITH BEIHANG'S OVERSEAS STUDENT COMMUNITY

During the visit to France and Spain, President Wang Yunpeng and the delegation also met with 14 double-degree students from the Sino-French Engineer School and H3I who are studying in Lyon, as well as 11 double-degree students and exchange students from the School of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, and School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering in Madrid. They engaged in warm discussions with the students about their overseas study experience. Wang Yunpeng encouraged the students to closely align their personal growth with national development, cherish the precious opportunity to study abroad, actively integrate into the local culture, master cutting-edge knowledge and skills, deepen their expertise in specialized fields, and grow into talent who can shoulder great responsibilities in the future.

Wang Yunpeng holds talks with Beihang students studying in Lyon

Wang Yunpeng holds talks with Beihang students studying in Madrid

This visit served as a key initiative to advance the“Global Beihang”initiative and the in-depth implementation of the UPS Internationalization Strategy. The delegation visited 4 key partner universities in France and Spain, signed 9 cooperation agreements, successfully hosted Beihang University Day at UPV, and inaugurated the China-Spain Institute for Excellent Engineers and the Beihang-UPM Joint Research Center for Data Science. During the visit, more than 20 faculty members from relevant schools of Beihang organized a total of 8 bilateral academic seminars.

The visit effectively promoted the optimization and upgrading of Beihang's cooperation framework in Europe, laying a solid foundation for advancing the integrated development of education, science, technology and talent, innovating the model of internationalized education and scientific research cooperation, and building a closer global partnership. Vice President Zhao Weisheng attended the delegation's activities in France. Heads of the International Relations Department, H3I, Sino-French Engineer School, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, and other relevant departments were part of the delegation during the visit.

Editor: Liu Tingting