To expand the opening-up of education in the new era and continuously promote the implementation of the global open development strategy, Jin Li, President of Fudan University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led a delegation to visit Italy and Austria from October 5 to 11, 2025. He attended the second academic symposium commemorating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, Understanding China: Cultural Mediation, Philosophical and Scientific Exchange between Europe and China, jointly organized by Fudan University and Ca' Foscari University of Venice. He also visited universities, scientific research institutions, and international organizations including Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy), the Venice Centre of the University of Warwick (UK), the headquarters of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the University of Vienna (Austria), as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Atomic Energy Agency, to pragmatically promote the university's scientific and educational cooperation, humanities exchanges, and collaboration with relevant international research institutions and international organizations in Europe.
Visiting Ca' Foscari University of Venice to Promote Deepened Cooperation Between the Two Universities
On October 6 local time, Jin Li led a delegation to visit Ca' Foscari University of Venice and held talks with Tiziana Lippiello, Rector of Ca' Foscari University and an alumna of Fudan University. Rector Lippiello expressed a warm welcome to the Fudan University delegation, recalled her time studying at Fudan, introduced the overall situation and latest developments of Ca' Foscari University, and expressed hope to carry out cooperation with Fudan in more fields. Jin Li stated that Fudan University will, as always, support academic exchanges between teachers and students of the two universities, and further promote the two universities to achieve more cooperative results in fields such as scientific research cooperation and mutual cultural learning in the future.
On the afternoon of that day, Jin Li, together with Tian Mei, Dean of the Human Phenome Institute and Director of Center for Advancing Global Collaboration, delivered an academic report titled The Human Phenome Project and Future Medicine for the faculty and students of Ca' Foscari University, and conducted in-depth exchanges with experts and scholars from Ca' Foscari University, Sapienza University of Rome, and others.
On the morning of October 7, Jin Li and Tiziana Lippiello jointly delivered opening remarks for the Understanding China: Cultural Mediation, Philosophical and Scientific Exchange between Europe and China forum. As a continuation of the first academic symposium commemorating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death jointly organized by the two universities in 2024, this forum further deepened the academic cooperation and humanities ties between Fudan University and Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
Visiting the Warwick Venice Centre to Innovate Cooperation Models
On the morning of October 7, Jin Li and his delegation visited the Warwick Venice Centre. Dr. Bryan Brazeau, the Academic Director of the center, introduced its operational model and activities. The two sides discussed fully utilizing the Warwick Venice Centre to promote various forms of bilateral and trilateral cooperation among Fudan University, the University of Warwick, and Ca' Foscari University of Venice, including the joint development of short-term courses, holding seminars, and planning exhibitions.
Visiting International Research Institutions such as the ICGEB to Deepen Academic Exchanges and Scientific Research Cooperation
On the afternoon of October 7 and on October 8, Jin Li and his delegation visited the headquarters of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Trieste, and conducted in-depth academic exchanges with several PI teams at the ICGEB headquarters in fields such as cellular immunology, biotechnology, proteomics, and functional cell biology. Both sides expressed their intention to further strengthen the exchange visits of researchers between Fudan University and the ICGEB, and to promote cooperation in scientific research and talent cultivation.
During the stay in Trieste, Jin Li also communicated with Professor Atish Dabholkar, Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Professor Andrea Romanino, Director of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), and researchers from the two institutions to explore conducting scientific research cooperation, joint doctoral training, and postdoctoral exchanges in fields such as mathematics, theoretical physics, astrophysics, and neuroscience.
Visiting the University of Vienna to Deepen Strategic Cooperation
On the morning of October 9, Jin Li and his delegation visited the University of Vienna in Austria and met with Rector Sebastian Schütze and Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs Manuela Baccarini. Both sides reviewed the in-depth cooperation in multiple disciplines since the establishment of their strategic partnership in 2019, and unanimously agreed to continue deepening the strategic cooperation between the two universities, further solidifying existing cooperation in fields such as mathematics, philosophy, and German literature, promoting the establishment of exchanges and cooperation in global climate change, sustainable development, nutrition, and art history, and jointly organizing a trilateral cooperation forum in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and AI for Science (AI4S) with Kyoto University in Japan.
Visiting UN-related Agencies to Strengthen Cooperation with International Organizations
On the afternoon of October 9, Jin Li went to the Vienna International Centre to visit the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). John Brandolino, Director of the Division for Treaty Affairs of UNODC, and Candice Welsch, Director of the Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, among other representatives, participated in the meeting. Both sides introduced the overall development of their respective institutions and conducted in-depth exchanges on topics such as talent cultivation, technology R&D, standard setting, proficiency testing, and project cooperation, focusing on the fields of forensic science and integrity education.
Accompanied by Liu Guanghui, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the IAEA from the Chinese Mission in Vienna, Jin Li also paid a visit to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He held talks with Najat Mokhtar, Deputy Director General for Nuclear Sciences and Applications, and Liu Hua, Deputy Director General for Technical Cooperation. The two sides exchanged intentions for cooperation on relevant conferences and training programs.
Relevant heads of the university's Global Collaboration Strategy Center, the Science and Technology Research Institute, and the School of Forensic Medicine, as well as scholars from the School of Life Sciences, accompanied the delegation.
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