From October 11th to 17th, President Song Wenlong led a delegation to Australia and Canada, where they visited several top universities and met with relevant officials at various Chinese embassies and consulates. The visit aimed to deepen bilateral educational exchanges and practical cooperation between China and Australia and between China and Canada, further advance NEFU’s high-level internationalization, and contribute to enhancing the international influence of Chinese education.

During the visit to the University of Melbourne (UniMelb), Song Wenlong held talks with Professor Marek Tesar, Dean of the Faculty of Education of the University. Song gave a detailed introduction to NEFU’s layout of Sino-foreign cooperative education and the distinctive measures and achievements in building its international talent cultivation system. He stated that NEFU attaches great importance to inter-university cooperation with the University of Melbourne and hopes to leverage the disciplinary strengths of both institutions to deepen how they complement each other, share resources, and focus on advancing in-depth cooperation in areas such as Sino-foreign cooperative education. Dean Marek Tesar introduced the globally leading disciplinary strength of the Faculty of Education at UniMelb, explicitly stating that he would make every effort to promote Sino-foreign cooperative education between the two universities, and he further expressed his expectation that cooperation between the two sides would proceed steadily and yield early results. The talks produced fruitful outcomes: the two sides reached a consensus on jointly establishing a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution and confirmed key specifics, including cooperative programs, educational levels, and the timeline for project application, laying a solid foundation for subsequent application work.

Song Wenlong Holds Talks with Marek Tesar

During the visit to the Australian Institute for Future Education (AIFE), Song Wenlong held talks with Ian Young, Chairman of the Board of AIFE, and Iain Watt, President of AIFE. Song expressed gratitude to AIFE for its long-standing support for China-Australia educational exchanges and for advancing cooperation between the two institutions. He noted that the two sides have established a solid foundation for cooperation and expressed the hope to further expand the scope of collaboration by leveraging the international platform of NEFU's Hainan International College (HIC-NEFU), deepen core areas such as international collaborative research and innovation and the joint cultivation of interdisciplinary international talent, and elevate the cooperation to a higher level. Ian Young responded positively to this vision, stating that AIFE will continue to leverage its platform advantages, actively support the China-Australia educational exchanges, and promote broader and deeper exchanges and cooperation between the two institutions. Following the talks, the two sides signed the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Building an International Joint Laboratory for the Development and Utilization of Forest Food and Medicinal Resources, creating a new platform for international research cooperation of NEFU.

Song Wenlong and Ian Young Sign Cooperation Agreement

In addition, Song Wenlong held working talks with Rishen Shekhar, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU). The two sides conducted in-depth consultations on key cooperation areas, including inter-university student exchange, international mutual recognition of credits, and the joint establishment of a credit center, reaching multiple cooperation consensuses and laying a solid foundation for faculty and student exchanges between the two institutions. During the visit, Song Wenlong also met with Ding Li, Education Counsellor at the Chinese Consulate-General in Melbourne and held in-depth discussions on deepening NEFU’s educational and research cooperation with Australian universities.

Song Wenlong and Rishen Shekhar Exchange Gifts

Song Wenlong Holds Talks with Ding Li

At the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, Song Wenlong held working talks with Gage Averill, Provost and Vice-President and Rob Kozak, Dean of Faculty of Forestry. Song provided a comprehensive overview of NEFU’s progress in implementing its internationalization strategy and the latest advances in high-level educational opening-up. He reviewed the two universities’ longstanding and substantial cooperation in forestry disciplines, talent cultivation, and joint research. He expressed the hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to further deepen practical cooperation, broaden areas of collaboration, elevate the level of partnership, and actively advance key initiatives such as the joint application for a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution. Gage Averill spoke highly of the outcomes of cooperation between the two universities. He stated that UBC will fully support broadening areas of cooperation and enhancing the quality of cooperation, helping the Sino-foreign cooperative education institution become operational at a mutually beneficial early date.

Song Wenlong Holds Talks with Gage Averill

Song Wenlong and Gage Averill Exchange Gifts

During his visit to Canada, Song Wenlong visited the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest and toured the BioProducts Institute, Integrated Remote Sensing Studio, Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, and Sustainable Functional Biomaterials Lab. He examined in detail the research infrastructure and experimental forest plots at the research forest and gained a systematic understanding of the development of UBC’s cutting-edge research platforms, its research and innovation system, and practice-oriented talent cultivation model. He also held in-depth discussions on forestry management models, industry governance systems, and the concepts and successful practices of sustainable forestry development in China and Canada.

Song Wenlong Visits the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest

Song Wenlong Tours UBC Laboratories

Song Wenlong also met with NEFU students and faculty currently studying or on exchange at UBC. He inquired in detail about their academic progress, research activities, and daily life, and listened to their reflections and gains from studying abroad as well as their suggestions for NEFU’s internationalization efforts. He encouraged them to make the most of their overseas study, devote themselves to rigorous study and research, broaden international horizons, and sharpen professional skills in order to achieve solid results.

Song Wenlong Meets with NEFU Students and Faculty at UBC