From June 10th to 11th, 2024, Professor Georgios Papakonstantinou, Dean of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute (EUI), and Gaia Bettinelli, Director of EUI-GDUFS program, visited our university. They had extensive exchanges on deepening and promoting cooperation between the two universities in various fields in the future and reached a high level of consensus.
Meeting Photo
On the morning of June 11th, Shi Youqi, Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, met with Professor Georgios Papakonstantinou and Gaia Bettinelli in the VIP Hall of the Administration Building at Baiyun Mountain Campus. Yang Li, Dean of the Graduate School, Zhou Peng, Director of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, and Zhao Longyue, Dean of the School of International Governance Innovation attended the meeting. Both sides discussed about the possibilities of further cooperation in the future.
Secretary Shi Youqi Extended a warm welcome to Professor Georgios Papakonstantinou and introduced the history, internationalization characteristics, and the PRIME Plan for international cooperation and exchange of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS). He highlighted the significant achievements of the School of International Governance Innovation in cultivating high-caliber international talents for global economic governance. He noted that GDUFS, with a history of 59 years, stands out for its strong emphasis on internationalization. As a key university in Guangdong Province’s High-Level University Development Program, GDUFS serves as a vital hub in South China for international talent cultivation, foreign languages and cultures, international economics and trade, global strategy, and legal research in international affairs. Adhering to an open education philosophy, GDUFS actively seeks high-quality collaborations with overseas universities and has established cooperative relations with 502 universities in 65 countries. As a result, GDUFS has improved its competence in international education and enjoyed rich experience and prominent advantages in the cultivation of international talents. Among them, the “Master’s Degree Program in International Governance Innovation”, jointly run by the School of International Governance Innovation, which was the first of its kind established among universities in China by Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and the University of Maryland in the United States, has been successively selected as two key programs by the China Scholarship Council. Moreover, it has received high attention and support from the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce. Until now, more than 500 graduate students have been selected and trained through eight cohorts of the International Governance Innovation program. Over 70% of those who pursued further studies at partner universities abroad have secured opportunities for internships and employment in international organizations. Secretary Shi emphasized that since the signing of the comprehensive cooperation framework agreement between EUI and GDUFS on June 28th, 2023, the two universities have achieved fruitful collaboration in many areas. He expressed hope for continued efforts to complement each other’s strengths, pool high-quality resources, accelerate progress in Sino-foreign cooperative education, and cultivate high-quality talents.
Professor Papakonstantinou expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome. He noted that EUI recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, remarking that the two universities could be considered to be of “similar in age.” The European University Institute is a research-oriented university renowned for social sciences, dedicated to cultivating high-level professionals with expertise in transnational and global governance. Its deans have historically been senior officials with significant influence in politics. For instance, the inaugural dean of the School of Transnational Governance, Alexander Stubb, an important partner of GDUFS’s International Governance Innovation Program as well, was successfully elected as the President of the Republic of Finland On February 11th, 2024. Additionally, Professor Papakonstantinou himself has once held high-level public positions, including Greece’s Minister of Finance, Minister of Environment and Energy, Member of Parliament, and Member of the European Parliament. He has made outstanding contributions to promoting the structural reforms of the Greek economy and the reforms in energy and environmental governance. Professor Papakonstantinou stated that the strong alignment in values and talent cultivation philosophies between EUI and GDUFS provides a solid foundation for their collaboration. He suggested taking advantage of this visit as an opportunity to explore more substantive cooperation: first, deepening research exchanges across various fields to promote mutual visits and interactions; second, establishing an EMBA study program with EUI’s features; and third, accelerating the professional training of talent in public policy research. He expressed hope that the two universities will further strengthen their practical cooperation in areas such as international governance talent cultivation and Sino-foreign cooperative education, jointly cultivating more policy elites with global visions and governance capabilities, and contributing wisdom and strength to addressing global challenges.
Professor Papakonstantinou and Ms. Bettinelli visited GDUFS History Museum
In addition to the meeting, Zhao Longyue, Dean of the School of International Governance Innovation, along with some faculty and students, accompanied Professor Papakonstantinou and Gaia Bettinelli on the tour of the University History Museum on Baiyun Mountain Campus. Students from the School of International Governance Innovation gave an engaging introduction to the university’s origins, historical development, and achievements. Professor Papakonstantinou spoke highly of the university’s profound cultural deposit and distinctive educational characteristics.
This visit has not only consolidated the basic framework of cooperation between the two universities, further established the key steps for in-depth cooperation, and optimized the layout of foreign exchanges and cooperation, but also marked that the Sino-foreign cooperative education of our university has reached a new milestone. It also expanded the cooperation areas for cultivating high-quality international governance professionals with specialized skills, global visions, international thinking, and the ability to adapt to the development of the globalized era, injecting vigorous momentum into the development of GDUFS’s education.
