On the 15th of this month, Tsinghua University signed a memorandum of cooperation with the University of Illinois system, one of the top public universities in the United States, at its Hsinchu campus. In addition to student exchanges and faculty visits, the two universities will also collaborate extensively in the fields of semiconductors, biomedical sciences, electric vehicles, materials science, and Chinese language teaching for research and talent development.

The University of Illinois system includes three universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield, known for their diverse curriculum offerings. The Urbana-Champaign campus, which was founded in 1867, has had 18 Nobel laureates over the years. Tsinghua University had previously signed memoranda of cooperation with the Chicago and Urbana-Champaign campuses in 2020 and 2021, respectively. This time, the cooperation agreement with the University of Illinois system also includes the Springfield campus.

At the signing of the memorandum of cooperation witnessed by the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University President Gao Wei-Yuan and University of Illinois System President Timothy L. Killeen discussed the theme of "global higher education opportunities and challenges." Both presidents emphasized the importance of cultivating students' interdisciplinary and diverse learning abilities to meet the challenges of the next generation.

Gao Wei-Yuan pointed out that one of the key strategic priorities for Tsinghua's academic development is to cultivate students with interdisciplinary and diverse learning abilities. The academic performance of the University of Illinois is outstanding, and now the two universities are comprehensively enhancing the level and depth of their exchanges. This will bring more opportunities for Tsinghua faculty and students to explore cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural areas, and also welcomes UI faculty and students to experience Tsinghua culture.

Killeen expressed that this is his 5th or 6th time visiting Taiwan, and UIUC has always valued its partnership with Tsinghua University and also emphasizes the cultivation of students' diverse abilities. For example, during the outbreak of the pandemic, comprehensive solutions were needed in fields such as medicine and socio-economics. He believes that the signing of the memorandum of understanding this time will comprehensively enhance the interaction between the two universities' faculty and students and will initiate new collaborations, such as in the fields of semiconductor and environmental sustainability.

Tsinghua University stated that in the past two years, student exchanges and teacher visits between the two universities have been reduced due to the impact of the pandemic. However, with the lifting of restrictions and the opening of borders, exchanges between the two universities will become more frequent this year. Three Tsinghua students have already applied to UI's Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses for exchange programs.

Liu Yu-He, a second-year graduate student in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University, will be going to the University of Illinois at Chicago for a one-year exchange program in the fall of this year. She stated that the University of Illinois at Chicago has one of the top medical schools in the United States. "My focus of study is in visual imaging and detection, and I hope to dive deeper into this area of research after going to the US."

Chen Yan-Ci, a junior student majoring in Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University, will be going to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for a one-semester exchange program in the spring of next year. He expressed that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the top universities in the US for engineering and has a long history. He had plans to pursue graduate studies in the US, so with the strong recommendation from his professors, he applied to study abroad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during his undergraduate years.

In addition, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also has one doctoral student and one undergraduate student who came to study abroad at Tsinghua University under the MOE's "Huayu Enrichment Scholarship."

An 8-person delegation from the University of Illinois, including President Timothy L. Killeen, Vice President Nick Jones, Jay Walsh, Assistant Vice President Pradeep Khanna, Jisu Hong, Janet Jokela, Minjoo Lawrence Lee, and Brooke Weisenbeck, visited Tsinghua University.