At the invitation of University College Cork in Ireland and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy, Mao Xinshu, vice president of BTBU, led a delegation to visit universities in Ireland and Italy from April 11th to 17th. The purpose of this visit was to promote in-depth cooperation between BTBU and overseas partner universities and accelerate the internationalization process of BTBU’s education.

The delegation visited University College Cork from April 11th to 13th. The two sides held in-depth consultations on promoting in-depth cooperation, including jointly establishing Sino-foreign cooperative education institutions, applying for Sino-foreign cooperative education programs, carrying out multi-level and wide-ranging exchanges of teaching and research staff, and promoting international scientific research cooperation. They also signed the letter of intent for comprehensive deepening of cooperation between the two universities.

During the visit to University College Cork, the delegation members had working-level exchanges with the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Food Science and the International Office of University College Cork. The two sides had in-depth discussions on the curriculum systems and course settings in computer science, software engineering, artificial intelligence, etc., and had in-depth communication and exchanges on the work plans for promoting Sino-foreign cooperative education programs and institutions. At the same time, the delegation visited the representatives of students in the Sino-foreign cooperative programs and the representatives of doctoral students in the innovation programs of the China Scholarship Council who are currently studying at University College Cork. Representatives from relevant colleges and departments of University College Cork, such as the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Food Science and the International Office, participated in the talks.

The delegation visited the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and carried out a series of visiting and exchange activities from April 14th to 17th. They implemented a series of cooperation intentions reached after the establishment of inter-university cooperation between the two universities in 2024. At the same time, they focused on in-depth discussions on cooperation in fields such as food science, computer science, and business, and determined and promoted the cooperation programs planned for 2025.

During the visit to Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Mao Xinshu held talks with Edilio Mazzoleni, the vice president of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. The two sides reviewed the progress of cooperation programs since 2024, and held talks on the China-Italy International Academic Forum in 2025, the bachelor-master continuous-study program, the short-term student exchange program, jointly carrying out international scientific research cooperation, and jointly building the China-Italy Beijing Center.

The delegation members respectively held talks with Prof. Pier Sandro Cocconcelli, the dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Life Sciences of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Professor Matteo Pedrini, the person in charge of the sustainable development postgraduate program of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division, and Mr. Gianluca Samsa, the deputy director of the International Cooperation Office. They discussed and exchanged views on the joint master-doctor training program, jointly carrying out scientific research cooperation, and promoting teacher exchanges and visits, and developed work plans for future cooperation between the two sides. After the talks, the delegation visited the relevant laboratory facilities and campus facilities of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Professor Luigi Lucini, the person in charge of the food processing program of the Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Life Sciences of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Professor Paolo Sckokai, the person in charge of the agricultural and food economics program, and Antonio Gallo, the international coordinator of the college, attended this activity.

This visit not only deepened and enhanced the mutual understanding between BTBU and universities in Europe, but also laid a solid foundation for the continuous in-depth cooperation between the two sides in many fields such as educational cooperation, talent cultivation, scientific research, and cultural exchanges in the future. BTBU will continue to promote opening-up, cooperation, and exchanges, strive to expand international academic exchanges and educational and scientific research cooperation, and continuously improve the level of international exchange and cooperation of BTBU.

He Dongmeng, the director of International Office of BTBU, Guo Xinyuan, the director of Graduate School, Li Haisheng, the executive dean of the School of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Wang Bei, the vice dean of the School of Food and Health, attended this visit.