Shandong Jianzhu University Leaders Lead Delegation to Visit Spain and Germany
To promote friendly exchanges and cooperation between Shandong Jianzhu University and universities in Spain and Germany, Li Qing, Member of the Party Committee and Vice President, led a delegation to visit the two countries from October 26 to November 1. Through the visits and exchanges, the friendly cooperative relations with relevant European universities have been further developed and deepened, and the visit has achieved fruitful results.
During the visit to Spain, the delegation visited The University of Salamanca. Founded in 1218, the university is ranked among the four oldest European universities alongside the University of Paris in France, the University of Oxford in the UK, and the University of Bologna in Italy. It is honored as the "Mother of Latin American Universities" for its outstanding influence and contributions to the higher education system in Latin America. The university offers a complete range of disciplines and programs, covering undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels of talent training. It ranks 526th in the 2026 QS World University Rankings. Raúl Sánchez Prieto, Vice President of the university, led delegations to visit Shandong Jianzhu University twice in the first half of this year to promote the establishment of a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution. The delegation paid a visit to Juan Corchado, President of the university, and held productive cooperation negotiations with Raúl Sánchez Prieto, Vice President, María Cruz Sánchez Gómez, Director of the International Cooperation Office, and other personnel. The two sides conducted in-depth consultations on the establishment of a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution, student exchange and joint training, discipline and program development, and faculty exchange, and reached further consensus on many aspects. The delegation also conducted on-site inspections of the university's relevant teaching and research facilities.
The delegation also visited the University of Barcelona, held discussions and exchanges with Chinese international students, and visited outstanding graduates of Shandong Jianzhu University who are pursuing doctoral degrees at the Autonomous University of Barcelona with funding from the China Scholarship Council. The delegation extensively promoted the university's talent introduction policies among Chinese international students.
During the visit to Germany, the delegation visited Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. As a well-known public university of applied sciences in Germany, it was founded in 1991, with its predecessor being the Magdeburg School of Architectural Art established in 1793. It has prominent school-running advantages in fields such as engineering, water treatment, sustainable development, and digitalization. The university has 5 faculties and more than 50 undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs. Professor Gilian Gerke from the Faculty of Water, Environment, Architecture and Safety of the university has visited Shandong Jianzhu University many times, delivered academic lectures to teachers and students, and promoted teaching and research cooperation. The delegation held talks with Julia Krumm, Director of the International Office, Professor Carsten Cuhls from the Faculty of Water, Environment, Architecture and Safety, and Professor Gilian Gerke. The two sides negotiated on cooperation in running schools, teaching and research cooperation, joint training of master's and especially doctoral students, and short-term exchange programs for undergraduate students, and reached consensus on many aspects. Accompanied by Professor Gilian Gerke and others, the delegation conducted on-site inspections of characteristic laboratories, representative scientific research achievements and other teaching and research facilities, and held on-site exchanges on talent introduction and scientific research cooperation.
The delegation visited Leipzig University. Located in Leipzig, Saxony in eastern Germany, Leipzig University was founded in 1409 and is one of the oldest universities in Europe. As a comprehensive research university, it offers a complete range of disciplines and programs, covering undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels of talent training. From 1953 to 1991, Leipzig University was named "Leipzig Karl Marx University". The university has produced outstanding alumni such as Angela Merkel, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ferdinand de Saussure, Cai Yuanpei, and Robert Schumann. It ranks 535th in the 2026 QS World University Rankings. Leipzig University has established the Confucius Institute at Leipzig in cooperation with Renmin University of China. The delegation held talks with Benjamin Creutzfeldt, Executive Director of the Confucius Institute at Leipzig, and Professor Cao Xinyu. The two sides exchanged views on student exchange, joint student training, cooperative school-running, and cultural exchanges, and reached consensus on various aspects. Professor Benjamin Creutzfeldt stated that he will pay a return visit to Shandong Jianzhu University together with relevant colleagues from Leipzig University to further promote exchanges and cooperation.
The delegation also visited the Technical University of Munich (TUM). As a top public research university in Germany and even Europe, TUM is renowned worldwide for its outstanding teaching and research in engineering, natural sciences, and life sciences. It is a member of the German "Excellence Universities" alliance and a core member of the League of European Research Universities. The university has long been ranked first among German universities and 22nd in the 2026 QS World University Rankings (1st in the EU). The delegation visited the Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering of the university and held productive discussions with Professor Martin Mensinger, Head of the Department of Metal Structures, on talent introduction, academic exchanges, scientific research cooperation, joint doctoral training, and student exchanges. Both sides expressed their willingness to strengthen communication and implement cooperation projects. After the talks, the delegation conducted on-site inspections of the university's teaching and research facilities and relevant laboratories.
In addition, the delegation visited International University SDI München to further promote exchanges and cooperation with the university.
During this visit, sufficient negotiations and exchanges were conducted on cooperation matters, and consensus was reached on various aspects. All parties expressed their determination to actively implement the cooperation intentions. The delegation also conducted on-site inspections of various teaching and research facilities, information technology equipment, and characteristic laboratories, and proactively learned from the advanced experiences and practices of the visited universities, especially world-renowned universities, in talent training, teaching and research, management and services. The visit has further promoted in-depth exchanges and cooperation with universities in Spain and Germany, demonstrated the new achievements made in the development of Shandong Jianzhu University, and effectively promoted the university, especially its policies related to talent introduction, teacher-student exchanges, and cooperative school-running. The visit has achieved fruitful results, and in the future, Shandong Jianzhu University will gradually carry out extensive and multi-level exchanges and cooperation with the above-mentioned universities.
Comrades from the Academic Affairs Office, the International Exchange and Cooperation Office, the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering accompanied the visit.
Reviewer: He Qin
Editors: Dong Yuxiao, Zhang Sifeng
Final Editor: Li Xiao
