On November 4, 2018, the signing ceremony for the comprehensive strategic cooperation framework agreement (CSCFA) between Shantou University and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) was held at Shantou University.

Director Jing Lihu of the Education Department of Guangdong Province, Deputy Director Lao Zhihong of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology and other senior leaders and representatives from  Shantou Municipal Government, Li Ka Shing Foundation, Shantou University and SUSTech.

The ceremony was hosted by Deputy Director Xing Feng of the Education Department of Guangdong Province.

Jing Lihu said it is another breakthrough and innovation in Guangdong’s higher education reform and talent system reform. Jing hoped that the two universities would boldly explore and bravely innovate. They would work closely together to set a new front for the sharing of talents, preferential treatment, and common research platforms in Guangdong’s higher education sector.

In his speech, Lao Zihong expressed the expectation that the two universities will work together to promote the innovation and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. 

Jiang Hong reported on the development of Shantou University. She reported the basic situation of Shantou University from the aspects of the talent pipeline, development of academic discipline and graduates.

Shantou University’s President Jiang Hong and SUSTech’s President Chen Shiyi respectively signed the “Framework Agreement for Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation of Southern University of Science and Technology of Shantou University.”

The CSCFA covers issues such as modern university system reform, academic discipline development, education and teaching, the talent pipeline, scientific research, and expansion of research platforms. The signing of the CSCFA marked the establishment of a long-term stable strategic partnership, and the two universities will work together to meet the new challenges of higher education.

Chen Shiyi spoke about the deep integration of the two universities were not only a deep combination of their own educational concepts but also of the development goals of both universities. Based on the principles of “sharing resources, complementing advantages, equality, and mutual benefit, and promoting each other,” the two universities will work together to achieve the grand goal of creating world-class universities. They will work on leading the development of higher education in Guangdong and make positive contributions to the improvement of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area while enhancing the economic and social development of the region.

At the ceremony, Jing Lihu presented Wang Quan with the appointment of the Executive President of Shantou University. Wang Quan is an academician of the Royal Canadian Academy of Sciences and an academician of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He was previously the Executive Vice Dean of the Graduate School at SUSTech.