At the invitation of partner universities in Hungary and Spain, Zhu Jian, Secretary of the CPC TU Committee, led a delegation on a visit to six institutions from May 18th to 25th. The delegation visited Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), and Semmelweis University in Hungary, followed by the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), and Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in Spain.

At Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the delegation was warmly welcomed by Hamar Imre (Hao Qingxin),Vice President for International Affairs, and Ye Qiuyue, director of the China Affairs Office. Secretary Zhu Jian outlined TU’s recent progress and the goals of the visit. He highlighted ELTE’s status as Hungary’s leading comprehensive university, particularly strong in disciplines like Education, and emphasized the strong five-year partnership between the two institutions. Zhu Jian announced plans to send a 30+ member faculty delegation to ELTE soon for deeper collaboration. Both parties aimed to build consensus and explore new cooperative fields. Key outcomes included signing an exchange student agreement and establishing a TU Students Overseas Internship Base at ELTE, marked by a joint plaque unveiling ceremony by Zhu Jian and Hamar Imre.

TU Students Overseas Internship Base unveiled at Eötvös Loránd University

Meeting at Eötvös Loránd University

At Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Vice President for International Relations Professor NEMESLAKI András and colleagues hosted the delegation, providing a comprehensive overview of BME. Secretary Zhu Jian shared TU’s significant strides in engineering, particularly in technological innovation, industry-education integration, and serving local industries, which define its application-oriented focus. He expressed a desire for expanded collaboration. Discussions covered university management best practices, potential faculty visits, student exchanges, joint enterprise scholarship programs, and exploring cooperative education in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering. Deans and professors from the Faculties of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology and Electrical Engineering & Informatics presented their cutting-edge research, teaching, and talent development approaches. The delegation also toured BME’s chemistry labs.

Delegation at Budapest University of Technology and Economics

At Semmelweis University, Marcel Pop, head of International Relations, and Fanni Matyasovszki, director of International Affairs, introduced the university’s profile, clinical/research strengths, and international initiatives. Agnes Alberti-Der, head of the Department of Pharmacognosy, led in-depth discussions with the delegation on natural medicine and health product research. Both sides agreed to explore cooperation in research, graduate training, and doctoral candidate recommendations.

Talking with Semmelweis University

At Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Jorge Serrano, director of the Official Master’s in Digital Humanities, presented this specific program. Productive talks led to preliminary agreements on mutual tuition-free student exchanges and collaboration related to the Digital Humanities Master’s, setting the stage for future partnership.

Delegation at Universitat Politècnica de València

At University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Vice President for International Politics and Global Cooperation Raul Martin welcomed the delegation. The delegation was impressed by UCLM’s beautiful setting, rich culture, and emphasis on blending theory with practice to foster student innovation and practical skills through diverse teaching methods. Talks focused on potential short-term exchanges, summer schools, joint programs, faculty training systems, and developing online English-taught courses.

Talking with University of Castilla-La Mancha

At Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), the visit built upon the existing relationship formalized by a 2019 Academic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement with UCM’s Language Center, which established student exchanges. Both sides reaffirmed their strong friendship and commitment to deepening ties. The delegation also inquired about the experiences of Chinese students studying at UCM.

Touring Complutense University of Madrid Campus

Through direct meetings and campus tours, the delegation gained valuable insights into the Hungarian and Spanish universities’ histories, latest developments, educational philosophies, management structures, teaching approaches, industry-education links, innovation ecosystems, and internationalization strategies. These learnings will help TU’s efforts to strengthen its academic programs, advance teaching reforms, boost international cooperation, and strategically pursue its goals of upgrading to a higher-level university, applying for doctoral programs, and striving to be first-class.