The rectors of the University of Tartu and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), Volli Kalm and Pan Shiwei, signed a cooperation accord between the two universities in Shanghai on March 11.
University of Tartu signs cooperation accord with Shanghai's SASS
18th March 2013, 15:59
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The agreement sets out the interest of both sides to promote cooperation in research and study, student and teacher exchanges, and lays down the groundwork for cooperation, spokespeople for the University of Tartu said.
The signing of the agreement was preceded by three years of negotiations and by now the departments of economics, social affairs and education have drafted their plans as regards cooperation with the Chinese university. The wish is to employ the competence of SASS within the framework of the joint module Asian Societies, Economy and Politics, developed together by three Estonian universities, and in research in comparative politics, international economics and EU and Russian studies.
The rector of the University of Tartu described the signing of the cooperation agreement with SASS as an important step in promoting relations with Chinese universities and developing of Asia competence in Estonia. Martin Hallik, the University of Tartu study prorector, said it was important that in SASS the University of Tartu had an active and ambitious partner cooperation with whom effectively had started already.
A delegation of the University of Tartu led by Rector Volli Kalm paid a week-long visit to China. Besides SASS they visited four partner universities in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong with whom Tartu either has a cooperation agreement or functioning student exchanges. The delegation members also met the Estonian consul general in Shanghai and the honorary consul in Hong Kong.
The University of Tartu now has nine partner universities in China. Seventeen Chinese students are studying in Tartu at this point, including 11 for a degree and six under short-term exchange programs.