On December 12, a delegation led by Cesar F. Flores, Vice Provost for Center for International Education (CIE) of Northern Arizona University, visited our university. The two sides held in-depth discussions on key issues including the application for a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution, student recruitment and training, and compliance clauses, and the delegation was also invited to tour the Xiangshan Campus. Vice President Shen Yunci attended the meeting and delivered welcoming remarks. Representatives from the Office of International Cooperation, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Accounting were also present.

During the meeting, Shen Yunci introduced our university’s distinctive educational features, disciplinary strengths, and the development context of Ningbo, and reviewed the history and achievements of cooperation between the two universities. He expressed confidence that this meeting would facilitate the smoother advancement of the cooperative education institution. Cesar F. Flores shared Northern Arizona University’s educational philosophy of placing humanistic care at the core, and expressed his hope that the two universities would engage in cooperation with the openness and inclusiveness of friends, jointly addressing various challenges that may arise. The two sides conducted thorough consultations on key matters such as the institution’s name, enrollment scale, curriculum design, and compliance clauses, reaching consensus and setting the core goal of completing the application and launching student recruitment for the cooperative institution by 2026. In parallel, the two universities will also advance a visiting scholar exchange program.

After the talks, the Northern Arizona University delegation visited the Xiangshan Campus and the Xiangshan Film and Television Cultural Base, gaining an in-depth understanding of the university’s educational environment, which integrates talent cultivation and practical teaching with the distinctive strengths of the film and television industry.

This round of talks and exchanges not only consolidated the substantive foundation of cooperation between the two universities, but also established a friend-based partnership grounded in mutual trust and win-win collaboration. Looking ahead, both sides will take this trust as a bond to efficiently advance follow-up work, jointly building a high-quality Sino-foreign cooperative education institution that integrates the strengths of both universities and complies with the policies of both regions. This will create broader platforms for faculty and student exchanges and contribute to the high-quality development of educational internationalization.

Written by:Yu Jiatong and Chen Lijiao, Office of International Cooperation; Photos by: Wang Wei, Office of Communications; Reviewed by: Zhu Fengmei, Office of International Cooperation