On the morning of April 7, a delegation led by Professor Frédéric Toumazet, Special Advisor to the President of Université Gustave Eiffel (UGE) and Director of Education at the City of Paris School of Engineers (École des Ingénieurs de la Ville de Paris, EIVP), as well as Professor Franck JUNG, Vice-President at UGE and General Engineer of the French State & Director of EIVP, visited the China-UK Low Carbon College (LCC) of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Guo Liang, Chief of LCC, met with the delegation at the Sheng Residence in SJTU Xuhui Campus. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on topics of mutual interest, including sustainable urban development and climate change, and formally signed the Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation.

The two sides explored the potential for collaboration in a number of cutting-edge research areas, including urban greenhouse gas accounting, circular economy policies, water and environmental chemistry, and urban renewal and regeneration, as well as various avenues for jointly applying for research grants.

Meanwhile, the two sides will compare public policies and governance models in China and France regarding the advancement of environmental objectives through policy dialogue. In the field of education and student development, the two sides exchanged views on cooperation models for programs such as research internship, short-term study tours and summer schools.

During the visit, the two sides held a signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), turning a new page in their partnership. The MOU aims to establish a formal framework for cooperation covering student exchanges, academic visits, joint research projects and the exploration of educational programmes, with a view to building a sustainable bilateral cooperation mechanism and sharing research resources and strengths. Coinciding with the 130th anniversary of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, specially commissioned commemorative gifts were presented to the UGE delegation to mark the occasion, offering joint blessings for the future journey of cooperation between the two parties.

This visit marks a significant step forward for both parties in addressing global climate change and promoting cooperation in science, education and sustainable development. Moving forward, the two sides will work together to cultivate low-carbon innovation talents with international outlook based upon the MOU framework, collaborate on research that yields far-reaching results, and contribute SJTU wisdom and efforts to the dual carbon goals.

Université Gustave Eiffel

Université Gustave Eiffel is a public research university in France specializing in research into sustainable urban transformation. It was established in 2020 through the merger of six higher education and research institutions, with the aim of promoting interdisciplinary research to address the challenges of future urban development.

The university brings together resources from a wide range of disciplines, including engineering, social sciences, architecture, urban planning and environmental sciences, and accounts for a quarter of French research capacity in the field of sustainable cities.