From December 9 to 14, Vesa-Matti Sarenius, Director of Academic Affairs of the University of Oulu in Finland, along with Professor Jouni Markkula from the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering and Vice Dean of the NJIT-Oulu School, visited Nanjing Institute of Technology. Deputy Chair Pu Lijie met and held discussions with the delegation led by Vesa-Matti Sarenius.

On behalf of the university, Pu Lijie extended a warm welcome to Vesa-Matti Sarenius. He emphasized that over the past eight years, NJIT and the University of Oulu have forged a close partnership and deep friendship, achieving a series of collaborative outcomes in disciplines development, talent cultivation, scientific research and innovation, as well as faculty and student exchanges. In particular, the joint degree program in Software Engineering has gained high acclaim both domestically and internationally for the quality of its graduates. Looking ahead, Pu Lijie expressed hope that both sides would continue to uphold a sincere spirit of cooperation, further enhance face-to-face communication and exchanges between faculties and teachers, strengthen joint teaching seminars and research collaboration, and work together to establish the Oulu School as a model for cultivating applied talents between China and Finland, thereby elevating bilateral cooperation to new heights.

Vesa-Matti Sarenius expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality of NJIT. As the head responsible for degree awarding management and teaching quality assurance at the University of Oulu, and one of the key participants in the initial negotiations for the double-degree educational program between the two universities, he expressed honor in witnessing how both institutions successfully overcame various challenges, including differences in educational systems, to launch Finland’s first “4+0” double-degree program jointly conferred with a foreign partner. He looked forward to expanding the scope of collaboration between the two universities on the basis of ensuring the high-quality and sustainable development of the joint institute, and to strengthening exchanges and interactions in more fields.

During the meeting, participants engaged in in-depth discussions on specific cooperation matters, exploring potential areas for future collaboration and expressing shared expectations for deepening the partnership. The meeting was attended by heads of the International Cooperation and Exchange Office, the School of International Education, NJIT-Oulu School, the School of Computer Engineering, the School of Architectural Engineering, and the School of Environmental Engineering.

During their visit, Vesa-Matti Sarenius also visited the Innovation and Entrepreneurship School, the “Tianyin DreamWorks” Student Entrepreneurship Incubation, and Nanjing Kangni Mechanical & Electrical Co., Ltd. Additionally, they exchanged experiences with vice deans of academic affairs and relevant program directors from the School of Mechanical Engineering, the School of Materials Science and Engineering, the School of Energy and Power Engineering, the School of Automation, the School of Communication and Artificial Intelligence, and the School of Integrated Circuits. The discussions focused on sharing insights into program development between the two universities and exploring potential collaboration in areas such as the joint development of micro majors.