On October 15, JIN Li, President of Fudan University, met with a delegation from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) led by Andreas Timm-Giel, President of TUHH, and Irina Smirnova, Vice President of TUHH.
Timm-Giel noted that from his first visit to Fudan last October to the signing of cooperation agreements between the two universities by the end of last year, the speed with which this happened reflected the vitality and efficiency of their collaboration. He said that TUHH takes engineering science as a strategic priority and is committed to building research infrastructure, promoting the coordinated advancement of research, education, technology transfer, and science communication, and supporting students in learning with AI while validating and improving AI-generated results.
He added that addressing global challenges such as climate change requires bringing together top talent worldwide and ensuring that technological outcomes are truly applied on the ground. This, in turn, requires universities and cities to remain open, enabling people from different countries and regions to study and learn together. International cooperation is therefore crucial for TUHH. China, he said, is one of the most innovative regions in the world and a highly valued partner for TUHH, and he looks forward to further deepening cooperation with Fudan.
Jin welcomed Timm-Giel and his delegation. He recalled that the two first met at the Sino-German University Presidents’ Meeting in Beijing last October, after which Timm-Giel visited Fudan and the two universities signed university-level cooperation agreements, marking a good start to their partnership. He introduced Fudan’s latest progress in artificial intelligence and technological innovation: since 2023, the university has advanced three major initiatives including “AI for Science”, “AI for Social Science”, and “AI for Education”, launched over 110 AI-BEST courses, established the Center for Global AI Innovative Governance, and launched a peer-reviewed journal Science and AI with Springer Nature.
Last year, the university also established six Innovation Colleges to cultivate the innovative engineers urgently needed by emerging industries, serving Shanghai’s key industries, and responding to the growing demand for interdisciplinary engineering talent in the digital era. He said that the two universities have tremendous potential for cooperation and that, by joining forces, they can tackle the most frontier scientific challenges together.
Afterwards, heads of relevant departments from both sides exchanged views on directions for future cooperation. JIANG Yugang, Vice President of Fudan University, moderated the discussion.
In the afternoon, the Fudan-TUHH Exchange Day was held, at which representatives from both universities presented research findings in fields such as physics, materials science, philosophy, and environmental science through poster displays. During the event, members of the TUHH delegation had face-to-face exchanges with Fudan faculty and students, sharing their respective research progress.
The Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), founded in 1978, is located in the Harburg borough of Hamburg, Germany. It contributes to the development of the technical-scientific competence of society by educating the next generation of engineers with modern teaching and learning methods and by promoting technology transfer and the establishment of companies. At the end of 2025, Fudan University and TUHH signed agreements on education and research cooperation and on student exchange.
(END)
Writer: LI Yijie
Photographer: LI Ling
