The inauguration ceremony of the Nanjing Tech University Swansea University Joint Education Institute and the opening ceremony for the Class of 2025 were held in NanjingTech on 11 September 2025. Attendees included Jiang Juncheng, President of Nanjing Tech University; Paul Boyle, Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University; Fang Jun, Chairman of the Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education Branch of the China Education Association for International Exchange; Yu Weidong, Second-Level Inspector of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education; Catherine Sinclair-Jones, Cultural and Education Consul of the British Consulate General in Shanghai; Xie Yimin, Academician of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering; along with Vice Presidents Lu Weidong, Dai Zhihui, and Gu Xuehong of Nanjing Tech University. The ceremony was presided over by Vice President Ling Xiang.
President Jiang Juncheng emphasized that establishing the joint education institute with Swansea University is a timely initiative aligned with the broader strategy of opening up education and reflects Jiangsu`s commitment to taking a leading and exemplary role in educational innovation. He expressed his hope that students would pursue their dreams through hands-on practice and relentless exploration. Vice-Chancellor Paul Boyle highlighted the strong alignment between the two universities` engineering strengths and their shared focus on collaborative innovation, noting that the joint institute represents a truly powerful partnership. He encouraged students to become diligent, passionate, and creative young achievers.
Fang Jun remarked that the joint represents another significant step in China`s ongoing efforts to open up education, expressing anticipation that openness and integration would foster new heights in innovative talent development. Yu Weidong described the joint institute as a model of high-quality and efficient international educational collaboration in Jiangsu, expressing hopes that it would set benchmarks in moral education, cutting-edge innovation, and industry-academia synergy. Catherine Sinclair-Jones noted that the joint institute is a fresh achievement in educational cooperation between Jiangsu and the UK, expressing optimism that it would further contribute to people-to-people bonds between China and the UK and help address global challenges together. Drawing on his own experience as a Swansea University alumnus, Xie Yimin encouraged the inaugural cohort to build a solid academic foundation, strengthen practical skills, and become outstanding engineering talents and bridges connecting Eastern and Western civilizations.
During the inauguration ceremony, the presidents of both universities and other distinguished guests jointly activated the startup lever, symbolizing the official launch of the joint institute.
Following this, representatives of faculty, parents, and students delivered speeches. The presidents of both universities presented commemorative gifts to student representatives.
As a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution officially approved by the Ministry of Education, the Nanjing Tech University Swansea University Joint Education Institute adheres to the philosophy of “openness, innovation, and high-quality development.” With a focus on the “dual-carbon” goals, it integrates high-quality educational resources from China and the UK, establishing a comprehensive undergraduate-master-doctoral program system in key fields such as green chemical engineering, new materials, and smart manufacturing. The institute is dedicated to cultivating interdisciplinary engineering talents with global competence.
