By Li Han
Staff Writer of the Tsinghua News Center
The week-long Berkeley Week opened on the Tsinghua campus on May 26. The University of California, Berkeley is the first partner institution in the U.S. with which Tsinghua has cooperated on a University Week event. Tsinghua Vice President Xie Weihe and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of the University of California, Berkeley George Breslauer attended the opening ceremony in Tsinghua’s Main Building Monday morning.
During the Berkeley Week from May 26 to May 31, there will be a series of academic lectures and workshops focusing on psychology, international relations, the life sciences, sociology, technology innovation and innovation education. Faculty and students from both universities will have the opportunity to share many aspects of the latest developments in research and education and findings in science and the social sciences. Meanwhile, students will jointly perform a concert and dramatic presentation. A Friendship Tennis Match and other activities will also be on the agenda to enhance understanding and showcase the diversity of university campus life.
“Through a variety of academic and cultural activities, Berkeley Week at Tsinghua will provide us with a unique opportunity to further promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the students, faculty, and staff from both universities,” said Tsinghua President Gu Binglin. “Berkeley Week at Tsinghua is an auspicious sign of our growing partnership,” said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau.
In his address at the opening ceremony, Tsinghua Vice President Xie Weihe extended a warm welcome to the University of California, Berkeley delegation. He noted, “I sincerely hope that Berkeley Week at Tsinghua will be a platform for further strengthening friendship and collaboration between our two institutions.”
“Berkeley has been especially honored by a long history of collaboration with Tsinghua University, and the Berkeley Week at Tsinghua is an extension of this continued partnership and friendship,” said Provost Breslauer. He later delivered a speech on “Excellence in Undergraduate Education”.
As a significant part of this initiative, Tsinghua University and the University of California, Berkeley will discuss and initiate university-level cooperation as part of a shared platform of accumulated expertise in teaching, research and management. The shared platform extends to sharing resources in science, engineering, the humanities and social sciences during the course of pursuing and creating excellence in higher education.
The Memorandum of Understanding for "the Berkeley-Tsinghua Global Technology Innovation Program and Venture Lab and the Berkeley-Tsinghua Program on Psychology and the Development of China" was signed on May 26. The Strategic Partnership Agreement between the University of California at Berkeley and Tsinghua University in the Area of Psychology was also signed on May 26. VIA Technologies provides support for the Tsinghua - University of California, Berkeley programs.
The University of California, Berkeley was the first US institution of higher learning with which Tsinghua developed academic ties after China opened up in 1978. Berkeley is also one of Tsinghua’s closest overseas partner institutions. The faculty and student exchanges between the two universities have been continuous and active in a wide range of fields over the past three decades.
(Photo by Guo Haijun)
