By Li Han

Staff Writer of the Tsinghua News Center

The Tsinghua-Pennsylvania workshop on Cross-Cultural Research and Technological Innovation on Energy Efficiency in the Consumption Sector was held at Tsinghua on March 9th. Vice Minister of Education Chen Xi, Professor Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania, and Tsinghua University Council Chairman Hu Heping attended the opening ceremony held in the morning.

"The workshop today, cooperatively organized by the University of Pennsylvania and Tsinghua University, will focus on energy efficiency and low-carbon development in consumption fields. It is not only an important event for the two universities, but an example of international academic cooperation to promote energy efficiency and low carbon development," said Vice Minister Chen Xi.

"For the past century, the University of Pennsylvania and Tsinghua have had a really strong and important relationship based on shared academic interests and mutual respect," said Professor Gutmann. She noted that the conference was an important step in the efforts of the two universities to cooperate in addressing the challenge of sustainable development. Professor Gutmann also emphasized the importance of innovation and collaboration.

"The relationship between Tsinghua and the University of Pennsylvania has a long history," said Tsinghua University Council Chairman Hu. "The University of Pennsylvania and Tsinghua are holding this workshop jointly, focusing on energy and climate change which today are the global issues of greatest concern to the international community. Hopefully, the workshop will be a platform for the exchange of technology and educational cooperation for meeting the challenges of global warming stemming from the consumption sector of the economy."

Seven experts from the University of Pennsylvania and Tsinghua were invited to share with the audience their ideas on innovation and energy efficiency in the consumption sector.

The experts also held group discussions on technological innovation and cooperation in the afternoon.

Tsinghua and the University of Pennsylvania have been cooperating for a long time, especially through their schools of architecture, and jointly established the T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation & Energy Studies.

The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League institution with a distinctive past. Founded in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin, Penn has a longstanding reputation for excellence in graduate and professional education, with a number of its 12 schools ranked at or near the top in their disciplines.

(Photo by Guo Haijun)