The study tour to Spain sponsored by the SEE SEA Fund of the School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering concluded recently after visits to various famous Spanish universities, museums, and a famous church.
The study tour to Spain this year combined exchanges between universities with visits and investigations, giving the tour group an insight into the Spanish culture and its difference from that of China.
The SEE SEA Study Tour Fund has been set up since 2016 to support the overseas study exchange programs of the graduate students in the School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering. It is believed to help students broaden the horizon, cultivate international thoughts, enrich global experience, and enhance the “Matters of Confidence”, all of which are vital to the development of the correct outlook on life, values and world view.
The Technical University of Madrid (UPM)
Founded in 1971, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) is among the top three technical universities in Spain. The School of Technical Aeronautical Engineering lies in a small hillside. There are aircraft engines, propellers, double-wing aircrafts, models of launch vehicles on display on the first floor of its building, forming a strong sense of aeronautic research in the hall. The teachers at UPM expressed their expectation for more cooperation with China in the field of aeronautical engineering.
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) is one of the six public universities in Marid, comprehensively ranking the 3rdin Spain. It was the earliest university to establish cooperation partnerships with Chinese universities. The tour group visited the campus with the company of the local contact persons. They told the study tour group that with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, there are more and more Chinese elements in Spain in recent years.
Picasso Museum
The Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum), located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The study tour group met two Chinese students copying famous works there and communicated with them about the Spanish style of teaching in class.
Prado Museum
Located in central Madrid, the Museo Nacional del Prado (Prado Museum) is the main Spanish national art museum. It is widely considered to have one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art.
Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí's work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica, as distinct from a cathedral, which must be the seat of a bishop. During their visit, the study tour group there met an old Chinese man who worked in the United Nations now and missed his home country. He said that he felt very glad to meet his countrymen in a foreign place, and that his dream was to return to China one day to devote his knowledge and experience to his motherland.
The 7-day study tour has been fruitful, giving the group a great chance to learn about the Spanish culture and customs, as well as to perceive how the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China benefits and facilitates the cross-border communication in all fields.
Reported by Ouyang Zhongjie
Edited by Song Chao
Translated by Li Siying
