On March 25, a delegation of three led by Heidi Fagerholm, Rector of Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OUAS), Finland, visited Nanjing Institute of Technology. President Zhang Yangfei and Vice President Wang Qun warmly received the guests. The two sides held discussions on institutional cooperation and advancing faculty and student exchanges, and signed a framework agreement on cooperation.
During the meeting, Zhang Yangfei extended a warm welcome to the delegation and briefly introduced NJIT’s history, disciplinary characteristics, and international development achievements. He noted that NJIT attaches great importance to cooperation with Finnish universities. Since establishing a partnership with the University of Oulu in 2016, the two universities have carried out in-depth collaboration in software engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, and other fields, jointly establishing a JEI and cultivating hundreds of application-oriented talents with a global perspective. He expressed the hope that, with the signing of this framework agreement as an opportunity, NJIT and OUAS would further expand practical cooperation in faculty and student exchanges, cooperative education, university-enterprise curriculum development, and innovation practice, jointly writing a new chapter in China-Finland educational cooperation.
Heidi Fagerholm thanked NJIT for its warm hospitality and introduced OUAS’s institutional overview, teaching characteristics, international exchange programs, and experience in collaborating with local Finnish enterprises. She expressed appreciation for NJIT’s practices and achievements in talent cultivation, innovation and entrepreneurship, and international exchanges. She believes that the two universities share a high degree of alignment in their educational philosophies for applied talent cultivation and have broad prospects for cooperation. She looks forward to promptly implementing substantive cooperation such as joint degree programs, student exchanges, and faculty visits following this visit and the signing of the agreement.
At the meeting, Zhang Yangfei and Heidi Fagerholm signed the framework cooperation agreement on behalf of their respective institutions.
During their visit, the delegation also toured relevant schools at NJIT and visited the university's History and Development Achievements Museum to gain an in-depth understanding of NJIT’s development journey and educational outcomes.
The meeting was attended by key representatives from the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange and relevant teaching units.
Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OUAS), founded in 1996, is one of the largest and most influential universities of applied sciences in northern Finland. It currently has approximately 10,000 students and offers programs in business, engineering technology, information and communication technology, health and social services, and media and performing arts. Focusing on applied talent cultivation and R&D innovation, OUAS prioritizes areas such as low-carbon solutions, digital technologies, and business development. It has established an extensive international cooperation network with nearly 200 higher education institutions and enterprises from over 30 countries.
