On the morning of September 29, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Henan Province and Henan University (HENU) jointly held a special Mid-Autumn Festival Event for international faculty. Wu Huixian, Director of the Foreign Expert Service Office, Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Henan Province, led a four-member delegation to HENU, where they gathered with 27 foreign experts from 11 countries including the United States, Germany, and Russia. ZHANG Ligang, Vice President of HENU, attended the event, which was presided over by LI Qiuye, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Office.

ZHANG Ligang first expressed his welcome and sincere gratitude to the leadership of the Foreign Expert Service Office, Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Henan Province, for their special visit. He emphasized that building a strong faculty is fundamental to university’s efforts in advancing high-level talent cultivation and scientific research. ZHANG noted that HENU consistently prioritizes the internationalization of its faculty and continuously improves the support system for foreign experts. He expressed sincere appreciation for foreign experts’ contributions to talent development, scientific research collaboration, disciplinary development, and international exchange at HENU.

In her address, WU Huixian extended warm greetings to the foreign experts. She described foreign experts as invaluable intellectual assets to HENU and vital bridges for Henan Province. In this capacity, they facilitate international exchange in education, science, and technology, playing a key role in the region’s socioeconomic advancement and opening-up process. She affirmed that the Foreign Expert Service Office, Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Henan Province, will continue to optimize the policy environment. The office remains dedicated to building a broader platform, fostering a more favorable environment, and delivering more efficient services for experts working and living in Henan.

During the speech session for international faculty representatives, three professors, Makram El-Shagi from Germany, Natallia Surayeva from Belarus, and Yunghoi Koo from South Korea, shared their genuine experiences of working and living at HENU, expressing their heartfelt appreciation to HENU and their deep affection for Chinese culture. Following this, attending leaders presented carefully prepared Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to the international faculty and posed for a group photo.

During the cultural experience segment, HENU arranged a variety of traditional cultural activities for the foreign experts. Students from the Music School and the Wushu College performed traditional folk music, selected pieces of Yuju Opera, and Tai Chi. At the Traditional Chinese Culture and Craft Experience Center in the library, the foreign experts also had the opportunity to personally experience the production process of traditional crafts such as woodblock printing and Woodcut New Year Paintings.

This event fully demonstrated the high importance placed by the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Henan Province and HENU on the work related to foreign experts. It effectively enhanced the sense of belonging among international faculty and showcased HENU’s open and inclusive approach to internationalization. Moving forward, HENU will further deepen reforms of the working mechanisms for foreign experts while innovating operational models, thereby injecting new momentum into its push for high-level educational opening-up and “Double First-Class” development.