原文标题： UMR signs agreement with Tongji University in Japan
In efforts to become a bigger part of the global society, the University of Missouri-Rolla has agreed to establish an academic cooperation and educational exchange with Tongji University in China.
“This memorandum of understanding took two years to complete and included on-site visits by Dr. Jianfu Zhao, vice president of Tongji University, and UMR faculty,” Dr. Wayne Huebner, vice provost of research and sponsored programs at UMR, said. “It will enable a whole host of interactions between China and our university.”
The new partnership will focus on graduate student exchange and faculty collaboration in the environmental discipline. UMR officials look forward to the five-year agreement because it will increase the university’s visibility in China, which will improve its ability to attract excellent students to pursue advanced degrees. It will also help enhance the university’s research productivity. The agreement states that the development of academic cooperation will “facilitate the international exchange of ideas and enhance scholarly efforts” of both institutions.
“The agreement is a terrific opportunity for both institutions,” Dr. William Schonberg, chair of the civil, architectural and environmental engineering department at UMR, said. “I expect that this agreement and the collaborative efforts to follow will enrich the academic missions of both institutions while upholding and furthering their traditions of academic excellence.”
UMR will provide teaching and research assistantships to outstanding qualified Tongji University graduates who are pursuing advanced degrees at UMR, and Tongji University will host UMR students with opportunities to conduct research and gain international experiences in China. Schonberg said students who have an opportunity to participate in the exchange program will have an advantage when they’re ready to go out into the real world.
“Most companies now are global and China is probably the biggest growth potential for anybody and everybody as far as business development is concerned,” he said. “When it comes to someone having a core part of their business in China who is looking for an employee, our students in the program who have spent time studying and working there will have a huge leg up.”
“More and more companies are looking for students with an international perspective, so we owe it to our students to promote and offer these types of programs and opportunities.”
Schonberg said the agreement with Tongji University will also help build UMR’s international reputation.
“UMR has a great reputation within the country, but we need to pursue that same kind of a reputation internationally,” he said. “This agreement with Tongji University will help give our students and faculty members international exposure. This is a big deal for us to be able to do this with Tongji University.”
The exchange with the university in China will boost UMR’s global presence, according to Schonberg.
“We like to live and perform in a global society and if we’re going to stay on stop of that, these kinds of collaborations are key to making sure we stay abreast with how the world is changing,” Schonberg said.
Recognizing the value that a global perspective can give to students and faculty, UMR has partnerships with more than 130 colleges and universities in more than 35 countries.
“The partnership with Tongji University is part of the ongoing emphasis to help give our students a different level of exposure,” Schonberg said.
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