On the morning of October 26th, the ceremony of signing Cooperative Education Agreement of "GDUFS-Lancaster University" was held in International Conference Hall in North Campus. Zhong Weihe, president of GDUFS and Bauer Wellings, chancellor of Lancaster University, signed the agreement, which marked a milestone for "GDUFS-Lancaster University", the first university run by China and Britain in Guangdong.
The participants of the ceremony are Wei Zhonglin, deputy director general of Department of Education in Guangdong, Wang Chuang, deputy director of the Office, He Xueming, deputy director general of Nansha Economic and Trade Technology and Informationization Bureau in Guangzhou, Peter Upton, Culture education consular of British Consulate General, Bauer Wellings and his wife, Robert McGinley and Steven Bradley, vice-chancellors of Lancaster University, Zhong Weihe, president of GDUFS, Chen Jianping and Xu Guobin, deputy secretaries of the Party, Gu Yeli and Shi Youqi, the vice-presidents, and representatives of teachers and students. The ceremony was hosted by Gu Yeli.
Zhong Weihe addressed the cooperation of the two universities since early 1990s. The cooperative education could introduce advanced schooling concept and widen international horizon, which would influence the exploration to a new pattern of high education and become a new milestone for the internationalization of GDUFS. The cooperation contributes to the building of "happy Guangdong". He extended thanks to Guangdong Provincial Government, Guangzhou municipal government, the Department of Education of Guangdong province for their support.
Bauer Wellings regarded the ceremony as a historical moment. The two universities have sent teachers to each other for investigating and establishing international classes. The rich cooperative implications promoted the agreement. Lancaster University is among the top ten universities in the Great Britain and the top 100 universities in the world. The university sticks to the principle of "mutual benefit, cultivating high-qualified talents and bringing positive affects to the world and regions". It seeks to opportunities of international cooperation and started the cooperation with Chinese universities in 1976. It has established relationships with Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Sun Yat-Sen University and GDUFS. In the background of internationalization, the two sides agreed to strengthen connections and face the global problems together. The cooperative education is a major chance for development which will contribute to the finish of cooperative goals and creation of more opportunities.
The ceremony was held after the speech. Bauer Wellings and Zhong Weihe presented souvenirs on behalf of the two universities. The school leaders and guests witnessed the ceremony. All the participants toasted for the cooperative education.
This ceremony got high attention from four state media and more than ten Guangdong media. After the ceremony, Bauer Wellings and Zhong Weihe answered the questions of the presented media, put forward by journalists from China News Service, Southern Daily, Guangzhou Daily, Southern Metropolis Daily, New Express, and English Web of GDUFS. The questions included the enrollment, schooling pattern, site selection, teachers, differences education ideas between China and Great Britain. It is reported that "GDUFS-Lancaster University" will aim at building a "first class university in the world" and recruit excellent teachers in the world as a English-teaching university.
