On the morning of June 9, a ceremony was held in Qisheng International Hotel, on which Shandong Provincial Education Department (SPED) and the People’s Government of Zibo Municipality (PGZM) signed a contract to support Shandong University of Technology (SDUT) in its construction of a “double first-class” university and its optimization of the structure of disciplines by providing policy support, in an effort to make it one of top teaching-and-research universities with its own distinctive characteristics and to serve to accelerate the rise and the construction of Zibo City and even Shandong through the development of higher education.
Those present at the meeting included Deng Yunfeng, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Education and Work Committee, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of SPED, Jiang Duntao, Secretary of the Zibo Municipal Party Committee, Yu Haitian, Deputy Secretary and Mayor of the Municipal Party Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Education and Work Committee, Bai Hao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Provincial Education Department, Lv Chuanyi, Secretary of the Party Committee of SDUT, Hu Xingyu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of SDUT, Vice Presidents Liu Guohua, Wang Libin and Yi Weiming, also Members of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Song Zhenbo, Deputy Mayor and Member of the Standing Committee of Zibo Municipal Committee, Wang Kejie, Deputy Mayor of Zibo City. Gao Qingbo, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, Head of the Organization Department, Secretary of the Municipal Education Working Committee, presided over the ceremony. And leaders of SPED and PGEM, and representatives from relevant departments of SDUT also attended the ceremony.
On behalf of SDUT, Lv Chuanyi delivered a speech, stating that the memorandum of cooperation SPED and PGZM had signed was a major initiative in support of the construction of SDUT, an important opportunity for SDUT to serve regional economic growth and social development, and also a landmark in the integrated development of the university and the city. Lv said that SDUT would take it as a new starting point, adopt “eight development strategies”, build a “one mechanism”, “one space” and “six platforms” in accordance with the requirements of Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Liu Jiayi, to increase the ability to serve economic growth and social development, in order to accelerate the rise of the Zibo City and to contribute to the conversion of old and new kinetic energy and to the quality development of higher education in Shandong Province in the new era.
In his speech, Yu Haitian pointed out that the signing of the contract was an important opportunity for SDUT in terms of its quality development and also a major measure Zibo City had taken to accelerate the development of higher education and to innovate and empower science and education. Yu said that Zibo City would make use of the resources and platform of SDUT, supporting and serving the university, focusing on “One Space” Qi Chuang Building and “Six Platforms” and other key areas, integrating funds, talents, land and other policy resources, and finally ensuring the the joint construction of the university.
Deng Yunfeng pointed out in his speech, “Higher education has played a significant role in promoting economic growth and social development and enhancing overall qualities of people”. “The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have attached great importance to higher education, and have proposed to develop higher education with the strength of the whole province. The signing of the contract is not only an important measure to implement the decision and deployment of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, but also a key work to construct a strong province through higher education. In recent years, Zibo Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, taking sci-tech innovation as the first driving force for development, have attached great importance to the university-city integrated development, which has provided strong support for the quality, connotative development of the university and has laid a solid foundation for the joint construction of the province and city.” said Deng.
Deng Yunfeng added that SPED would work with Zibo City to increase support for the connotative construction and characteristic development of SDUT and to accelerate the university’s development in terms of deepening reforms of education and teaching, construction of scientific research platform, and cooperation in running schools with foreign countries, thus making SDUT one of the “double first-class” universities.
Bai Hao and Wang Kejie, on behalf of SPED and PGZM respectively, signed the “Memorandum of Cooperation between SPED and PGZM to Jointly Build Shandong University of Science and Technology” (“Memorandum” for short).
According to Memorandum, the goals were to take the construction of “double first-class” university as the guide, to strengthen policy support, to optimize the structure of disciplines, to lay out characteristic disciplines and new inter-disciplines to meet the needs of the “eight development strategies”, to build a first-class teaching-and-research university with distinctive characteristics, thereby making the university the “innovation and vitality, industrial source and bright business card” of Zibo’s economic growth and social development, and contributing to the rapid rise and establishment of a powerful province through developing education.
Memorandum proposed that in order to ensure the implementation of the cooperation agreement (June 2020 to December 2024), a joint meeting system shall be established to implement the policies and measures and coordinate major work issues.