Demonstrating its commitment to building greater collaboration and exchange arrangements with top international institutions, CityU has signed a co-operative agreement with France's largest university, Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne.

 

The agreement, signed in November, was concluded during a European trip featuring a six-member CityU delegation led by President H K Chang.

 

"I am very happy that City University of Hong Kong has officially concluded an institutional agreement with Universite Paris 1, which is the largest university in France with eight hundred years of history," said Professor Chang. "Within this framework, both parties will co-operate in fields of common interest, including law, humanities, economics and management. "

 

As far as law-related exchange is concerned, both parties have agreed to begin in the academic year 2002-03. Exchange will probably commence at the faculty level, followed by other exchange activities such as student exchange.

 

Other countries visited by the delegation included the Netherlands and the UK. The trip aimed to build links with prestigious European institutions and to enhance mutual co-operation in related areas. The CityU delegation consisted of Professor H K Chang, Dr Zhu Guobin, Assistant Professor in the School of Law, Professor Cheng Pei Kai, Director of the Chinese Civilisation Centre (CCIV), Dr Ma Ka-fai, Assistant Director of CCIV, Professor Zhang Longxi, Director of the Centre for Cross-Cultural Studies, and Ms Pauline Chan, Assistant to the President (Community Relations).

 

The delegation visited the Sinology Department at Leiden University, Amsterdam; the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, the Ecole Pratique Des Hautes Etudes, the Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne in Paris, Oxford University, University of Cambridge, and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. CityU was also warmly received by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Other potential exchange agreements arising from the trip include the CCIV exploring the possibility of collaborating with Paris's Ecole Des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in a joint project to facilitate Web-based Putonghua learning.