On March 20, Beihang University and Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) held a strategic partnership online signing ceremony. This cooperation, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of China-French diplomatic relations, is one of the key initiatives for Beihang to comprehensively deepen the UPS international development strategy and cooperation with its French partners.
Beihang President Wang Yunpeng and seven INSA presidents including Mourad BOUKHALFA, Chairman of the Groupe INSA and President of INSA Rouen Normandie, participated in the ceremony. Other attendees included Damien FABRÈGUE, Vice President of INSA Lyon, Gérard CREUZET, Co-Chairman of the Beihang China-Europe Cooperation Committee, Zhao Weisheng, Vice President of Beihang, as well as leaders from the International Relations Department, Department of Academic Affairs, Graduate School, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, and School of Aeronautics Science and Engineering. The signing ceremony was hosted by Zhao Weisheng.
In his address, Wang Yunpeng briefly reviewed the cooperation between Beihang and INSA. He stated that the two parties conducted multiple visits and deep exchanges over the past year based on friendly discussions as well as practical and innovative planning, achieving fruitful results. This ceremony marks a milestone in the bilateral cooperation and also signifies a new starting point. He hoped that both sides, taking the 60th anniversary of China-French diplomatic relations as an opportunity, will comprehensively deepen strategic cooperation to jointly promote the innovation of mechanisms and models for training outstanding international engineers and build a broader platform for scientific and educational cooperation and cultural exchanges between China and France.
BOUKHALFA expressed gratitude for the unremitting efforts of the teams from both sides. He believed that the high-quality international talent training programs by Beihang and INSA play a bridging role in deepening cooperation in talent training, scientific research, joint laboratories, and other areas. He hoped that the two parties further innovate in engineering education models, providing more exchange opportunities for young people from China and France and cultivating more outstanding engineers with a global perspective and interdisciplinary literacy.
Witnessed by all participants, Wang Yunpeng, BOUKHALFA, Bertrand RAQUET, President of INSA Toulouse, Frédéric FOTIADU, President of INSA Lyon, Vincent BRUNIE, President of INSA Rennes, Romuald BONÉ, President of INSA Strasbourg, Yann CHAMAILLARD, President of INSA Val de Loire, and Armel De la BOURDONNAYE, President of INSA Hauts de France, jointly signed the cooperation agreement.
From March 19 to 20, FABRÈGUE and the delegation from the Groupe INSA visited Beihang International Campus in Hangzhou. They conducted on-site visits and research on teaching venues, experimental equipment, sports facilities, etc. The two sides also held a workshop, reaching multiple consensus on promoting the implementation of cooperation projects.
The Groupe INSA is the largest engineering education group in France. Adopting a five-year consecutive engineering training model, it trained 10% of the total number of domestic engineers in France each year. It is unique in cultivating elite engineers in a high-level training model, and is committed to educating a large number of engineers with social responsibility and high-quality for sustainable development worldwide.
With nearly 40 years of cooperation experience with France, Beihang University has effectively collaborated with 34 French universities, research institutions, and enterprises in the fields of talent cultivation, research cooperation, collaborative education, and so on. 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of China-French diplomatic relations, and this year Beihang will host a series of commemorative activities in the areas of global partnerships, student exchanges, research cooperation, and so on.
Written by: Fan Hang
Photo by: Xie Yuqian, Xu Jingyao
Reviewed by: Weng Jingnong
Edited by: Jia Aiping
Translated by: Han Xu
