On April 10, a delegation led by David Lewis, Vice Chancellor of Adelaide University, visited Henan University (HENU). Zhang Suojiang, President of HENU, met with the delegation on the Longzihu Campus in Zhengzhou. Heads of the International Affairs Office, the School of Energy Science and Technology, and other relevant departments attended the meeting to discuss the framework for cooperation between the two universities.

Zhang Suojiang extended a warm welcome to David Lewis and his delegation on behalf of HENU. He noted that HENU, as a national “Double First-Class” university and one of Henan’s “Top Two Universities”, shoulders the historical mission of providing high-quality higher education to the hundreds of millions of people of Henan. HENU also bears the responsibility of revitalizing higher education in the Central Plains. In recent years, HENU has aligned itself with national strategies and regional development needs. It has set a new development orientation as a research-oriented, comprehensive, and internationalized world-class university. HENU has deepened its education and teaching reforms, strengthened organized research, intensified efforts to recruit and nurture high-level talent, and built a first-class innovation ecosystem and cultural environment. These efforts have yielded significant achievements in discipline development, research breakthroughs, and talent cultivation, steadily advancing HENU toward its goal of becoming a world-class university.

He noted that HENU has always pursued an open education philosophy and actively deepened strategic cooperation with world-class universities. As one of Australia’s top research universities, Adelaide University shares solid cooperation foundations and broad prospects with HENU in advantageous fields such as chemical engineering and materials science. He recalled that in November 2025, he led a delegation to visit Adelaide University, where the two sides reached broad consensus on joint educational programs and talent exchanges. He stated that David Lewis and his delegation made this return visit to refine specific matters and facilitate the implementation of the cooperation framework agreed upon last year. He expressed his hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to expand cooperation on the basis of existing collaboration. He called for joint research projects, the joint organization of high-level academic conferences, the enhancement of faculty and student exchanges, and the promotion of cultural exchange and mutual learning. Such efforts, he said, would inject new momentum into the high quality development of both universities.

David Lewis expressed his gratitude to HENU for its warm hospitality and gave a detailed overview of Adelaide University, covering its general information, disciplinary strengths, educational characteristics, and future plans. He stated that Adelaide University attaches great importance to cooperation with HENU and believes that the two universities are highly compatible in terms of their development goals and disciplinary framework. He expressed his willingness to accelerate the implementation of joint educational programs based on existing cooperation. He also emphasized the importance of practical collaboration in research innovation, faculty and student exchanges, and cultural integration to achieve mutual benefits and build a jointly branded cooperation program with international influence.

During the meeting, the two sides held in-depth discussions on the details of joint educational programs and reached broad consensus, laying a foundation for the orderly advancement of subsequent cooperation.

After the meeting, David Lewis and his delegation visited HENU’s smart classrooms and the Longzihu New Energy Laboratory. They gained a firsthand understanding of HENU’s teaching and research facilities and development achievements. They spoke highly of HENU’s smart teaching environment and its high-level research platforms.

This visit deepened the friendly relations and mutual trust between the two universities. It set a clear path and built consensus for expanding cooperation areas and refining cooperative measures in the future. Looking ahead, the two universities will deepen practical cooperation within the existing framework, expand cooperation areas, enrich the content of their collaboration, and work together to open a new chapter of mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and Australian universities.

With a history dating back to 1874, Adelaide University stands as one of Australia’s most historic and prestigious research universities. As a key member of the Group of Eight (Go8), it is widely recognized as the “Ivy League of Australia”. The university ranked 82nd in the QS World University Rankings 2026. It has a high international reputation in fields such as mining engineering, petroleum engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science.