Earlier this week, Her Excellency the Honorable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of New South Wales led a delegation with Iain Watt, the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President of International Affairs of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). The delegation was met by SUSTech President Chen Shiyi who witnessed a signing ceremony with Her Excellency of an extended memorandum of understanding (MOU) with UTS.

The MOU extends the existing agreements between SUSTech and UTS that were signed two years ago around research and education into smart city management and engineering.

On behalf of both sides, UTS Deputy Vice-Chancellor Watt and SUSTech Acting Vice President Zhao Yusheng signed the MOU.

Prior to the signing ceremony, President Chen Shiyi welcomed Her Excellency and her delegation to SUSTech. He said that this was the second time he had the honor to host the leadership of the New South Wales Government in less than two years, following a visit by New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2017. The great importance that NSW government attaches to research universities and their global collaboration, which is also valued by Shenzhen government, for SUSTech receives strong support from the city.

The State Council issued a statement to designate Shenzhen as an exemplary city to pioneer and showcase the development of advanced urban civilization, through its support of thirty cutting-edge scientific and technological areas. As it requires a prominent role to be played by research universities including SUSTech, SUSTech would continue to play an important role as a high-level research university that cooperates with universities across the globe.

Her Excellency and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Watt made remarks respectively at the ceremony. They said that they were honored to visit SUSTech, and to witness the MOU signing ceremony. They recognized that the significant results SUSTech achieved in such a short period, and are confident about the future cooperation between the both sides.

Her Excellency also noted that SUSTech gained world-wide reputation in just several years and it is an honor to be here to witness the cooperation between SUSTech and UTS.

The SUSTech-UTS Joint Research Center for Biomedical Materials and Devices has achieved many results in a short period, reflecting the importance both sides attach, and investment both universities had put into their cooperation. The NSW government will continue to support the cooperation between SUSTech and UTS.

As part of the visit, the delegation was taken to the SUSTech-UTS Joint Research Center for Biomedical Materials and Devices (Joint Center) and the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center. At the Joint Center, Her Excellency was informed of the impact of the Center, through its research results and its potential in public health.

Her Excellency visited SUSTech as part of a trip to Guangdong Province to mark the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of sister state (province) relations with New South Wales. She also met with leaders of the Guangdong provincial and Shenzhen municipal governments.