ALUMNI CHAPTER IN BEIJING: GROUP T CAMPUS GIVES THE KICK-OFF

NIEUWS VAN ALUMNI

On August 24 2019, the KU Leuven Alumni Chapter Beijing was officially installed in the Chinese capital. The next day there was already a first important event: the 20th anniversary of the Double Degree Programme in Engineering Technology of KU Leuven and Beijing Jiaotong University. Both ceremonies were the crowning glory of a quarter-century collaboration between both universities.

In 2013, KU Leuven established its first international Alumni Chapter in Shanghai. Today the university has alumni chapters in 12 countries: Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, the Netherlands, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“These chapters are an important asset for KU Leuven”, says Professor Peter Lievens, Vice Rector for International Policy who is also responsible for the alumni policy. “Internationalization is very high on the KU Leuven agenda. Two key aspects of our strategy are recruiting more students from abroad and promoting international mobility of our students, staff and researchers. As more KU Leuven alumni go on to build international careers we strengthen our global network”.

From left to right: Prof. Deng Xinghua; Prof. Koen Eneman, Campus Chair; Martine Torfs, Head of the Alumni Office KU Leuven; Prof. Peter Lievens, Vice rector of KU Leuven; Prof. Guan Zhongliang, Vice President BJTU; Wim Polet, Director International Office Group T Campus; Prof. Zhu Hengjun: Liu Shaoqing, Director of the Center of International Education BJTU and Guo Xuemeng, Secretary General of the BJTU Alumni Association.

Momentum

In 2000, the first four Chinese students graduated from the then University College Group T in Leuven. They started their engineering studies at Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) and came after one year to Leuven to complete their studies. They were the first to obtain a Double (Flemish-Chinese) Degree in Engineering Technology. Meanwhile, more than 250 students from over a dozen Chinese universities have followed in their footsteps.

During the memorial ceremony, Professor Guan Zhongliang, Vice President of BJTU, emphasized the importance of the double degree programmes for the universities involved. “The past 20 years have flown by, but we are determined to continue this momentum. The new KU Leuven Alumni Chapter Beijing will help to ensure that the informal network of alumni that already exists will help really come to the fore by playing an active role in the further development of the collaboration and the friendship between our universities”.

Yves Persoons