On September 11, 2025, Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham, led a delegation to visit Nanjing University. Tan Tieniu, Chair of NJU CPC Council and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, met with the guests on Xianlin Campus, where both sides engaged in in-depth exchanges on deepening practical cooperation in education and scientific research.
Tan Tieniu extended a warm welcome to Principal Tickell and his delegation, and provided a detailed introduction to NJU's history and educational characteristics, highlighting the university's significant contributions to China's higher education and scientific research development. He noted that as a stronghold of modern higher education in China, NJU upholds its over 120-year tradition of education and has now formed a new pattern of coordinated development across "one university, two cities, and four campuses." In terms of discipline construction, NJU excels in arts and sciences, while rapidly developing in medicine and engineering. Tan Tieniu also introduced Jiangsu Province's regional advantages as a strong province in science, education, and economy, and put forward specific suggestions for deepening cooperation. He expressed hope to expand two-way exchanges between faculty and students of both universities through platforms such as NJU's International Visiting Scholars Program and the Yangtze River Delta International Scientific Research Project for Young Scientists, as well as to explore jointly establishing academic centers and developing joint educational programs in China to enhance cooperation and achieve mutual benefits.
Adam Tickell expressed gratitude for NJU's warm reception. He reviewed the fruitful cooperation between the two universities in various fields including international scientific research collaboration, China-UK joint projects, and the establishment of the Shakespeare Centre, and introduced the educational characteristics of the University of Birmingham. Tickell noted that the University of Birmingham has significant advantages in interdisciplinary research and the transformation of scientific research achievements, and looked forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to advance cooperation between the two universities to a higher level through initiatives such as establishing joint centers.
During the meeting, Tan Tieniu and Tickell signed the “Over-Arching Agreement relating to a Joint Centre for Research and Education in Climate, Environment & Health Between the University of Birmingham and Nanjing University” on behalf of both parties.
Cat Sinclair-Jones, Consul for Cultural and Education at the British Consulate-General in Shanghai, stated that she would rely on China-UK higher education networks such as the JS-UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium to serve national diplomacy through civil exchanges within the framework of high-level exchanges in education, science, energy, health dialogues, and the British Education Minister's visit, helping to foster friendly cooperation between the two universities and build platforms connecting government, universities, and enterprises.
Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on joint publications, research funding projects, academic research and application transformation, engineering and interdisciplinary cooperation, establishment of seed funds, and multi-level talent cultivation, reaching consensus on further developing strategic partnerships and advancing transnational educational cooperation.
The meeting was chaired by Lu Yanqing, Vice President of NJU. William Bloss, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Jo Frampton, Vice-Chancellor for China Affairs of the University of Birmingham, Ding Aijun, Assistant President of NJU, and heads of relevant departments and schools from both universities attended the meeting.
