On December 3, 2024, UIN Sunan Kalijaga welcomed a delegation team from Yangzhou University (YZU) China. The visiting team included Yao Xiaoqun (Administrative Dean of College for Overseas Education), Shen Hui (Vice Dean of College of Mechanical Engineering), Assoc. Prof. Zhang Qi (Assoc. Prof. College of Mechanical Engineering), Chen Keqin (Director of External Connection Dept.), Liu Siwen (Deputy Director of Publicity Dept.), and Tong Suyang (Director of Admission Office of College for Overseas Education). This visit was a follow-up to an earlier visit made by representatives from Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) UIN Sunan Kalijaga – Dr. Fathorrahman (Vice Dean of students affairs and cooperation FST 2020-2024), Prof. Maya Rahmayanti (Chemistry Lecturer) and Lela Susilawati, PhD (Head of IO FST/Biology Lecturer) – which took place on June 25-26, 2024.
The YZU team was warmly welcomed by the Rector of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan, S.Ag., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D at the PAU building. The meeting was marked by a friendly exchange, where both parties briefly introduced their respective institution. YZU (https://english.yzu.edu.cn/ is a public university in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, that was established in 1992 through the merger of several colleges. It is currently ranked between 350-400 in the World University Rankings (WUR) and 501-600 by Time Higher Education. The University offers programs across five academic fields: (1) Humanities & Social Sciences (Law, Politics, Journalism, Education); (2) Natural Sciences (Math, Chemistry, Physics, Chemical Engineering); (3) Engineering (Information, Mechanical, Electrical, etc.); (4) Agriculture (Agriculture, Animal, Biotechnology) and (5) Medicine (Medicine, Nursing).
After meeting with the Rector, the YZU team continued their visit with a tour of the Integrated Laboratory of UIN Sunan Kalijaga. During the tour, the team held discussions with the laboratory technical staff (PLP) about equipment usage, maintenance, and accessibility for both students and lecturers.
A follow-up meeting was held in the FST meeting room, involving FST stakeholders, heads and secretaries of study programs, and several lecturers. Both UIN and YZU representatives presented their institutional profiles, revealing several study programs with similar focuses and opening up opportunities for collaboration. The potential areas of cooperation include student mobility (such as exchange programs), academic staff exchanges, visiting lectures, collaborative research, and joint conferences. Notably, two study programs at FST — Industrial Engineering and Architecture — proposed a co-assessment initiative for student projects, such as design work or prototype machine products showcased in exhibitions. This idea was well received by the YZU team and is set to become one of the collaborative programs to be implemented. The meeting concluded with an agreement to maintain ongoing communication to further explore collaborative opportunities, particularly with FST. These initiatives will later be formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions. This partnership is expected to support UIN’s broader goal of internationalizing its campus and providing global exposure for students, faculty, and academic staff.