On November 9th, Dominic McAllister, the British Consul General in Wuhan, along with his wife Nelly McAllister and senior regional cooperation officer Liu, visited our university for an exchange. Vice President Zhang Hongxia, School of Automotive Engineering Dean Hu Mingmao, Director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Office Zhu Zhanwei, "Hubei Distinguished Teacher" Professor Feng Ying, Sino-foreign cooperative education project leader Zheng Dongli, and Science and Technology Development Research Institute Deputy Dean Xiong Yongchen warmly received Mr. McAllister and his delegation. Zhang Chao, Director of the Municipal Office for Foreign Affairs, and Lu Hang, Deputy Director, accompanied the visit. A symposium was held in the third-floor conference room of the Industry and Education Building to discuss further cooperation. The meeting was chaired by Zhu Zhanwei.
Zhang Hongxia warmly welcomed Mr. McAllister's visit, expressing that our university has a long history of friendly exchanges with British universities. As early as the 1980s, our university sent many outstanding teachers to study at the University of Manchester in the UK. Since the early 20th century, our university has sent excellent teachers to study at the University of Chester in the UK every year. In 2014, Hubei University of Automotive Technology and the University of Bolton in the UK collaborated on a bachelor's degree program in automotive engineering, which was approved by the Ministry of Education. This collaboration deeply integrates our university's automotive engineering program with the University of Bolton's automotive performance engineering program, making our university the only institution in Shiyan with a Sino-foreign cooperative education program. Since 2021, several teachers from our university have pursued doctoral degrees at the University of Salford in the UK. In November 2021, the former British Consul General in Wuhan, Mr. Hogakai, visited our university, expressing the intention to strengthen the sharing of experiences in automotive engineering and promote exchanges and cooperation between the two universities. In the meanwhile, Our university also looks forward to expanding broader exchanges and cooperation with more British universities, achieving mutual benefits in scientific research and talent cultivation.
Zheng Dongli, the leader of the Sino-foreign cooperative education project, introduced the basic situation of the university's discipline construction, talent cultivation, and characteristic development, the history of our university's education cooperation with British universities, the operation of Sino-foreign cooperative education projects, and the envisioned further cooperation in Sino-foreign cooperative education institutions and international scientific research.
Mr. McAllister extended his gratitude to our university, stating that Hubei University of Automotive Technology has established a solid foundation for cooperation with British universities. He expressed appreciation for the quality of our university's students in the Sino-foreign cooperative education project in automotive engineering. The British Consulate General in Wuhan will continue to support the introduction of high-quality British higher education resources, cooperation between Sino-foreign cooperative education institutions, teacher training, joint development of curricula and textbooks, international education system certification, and international scientific research cooperation.
Mr. McAllister and his delegation also visited our university's Dongfeng HUAT Formula Student Racing Team, learned about the performance of the racing car and its glorious achievements, and conversed with the team students in English, encouraging them to study hard. Later, Mr. McAllister and his delegation toured the university's Science and Technology Innovation Exhibition and Exchange Center.
It is reported that during their visit, the Consul General and his delegation also inspected related companies in the field of hydrogen energy vehicles in our city. They were warmly received by Zhang Shu, Deputy Mayor of Shiyan, with Vice President Zhang Hongxia accompanying the reception.
