On the afternoon of September 25^th, Nanjing and the University of Cambridge held a development conference online and offline aimed at deepening partnership during which a project cooperation agreement was signed and matters concerning the strengthening of innovation cooperation were discussed. 

Lv Jian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of Nanjing University, and Cheng Heping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of Peking University were present at the conference in Nanjing. Stephen Toope, Vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Chris Wood, Consul-General of the United Kingdom in Shanghai, and Eilis Ferran, Deputy Vice-chancellor of institutions and international relations of the University of Cambridge were attending the conference online.

Stephen Toope praised Nanjing for its efforts in promoting global innovation cooperation, and expressed his gratitude for Nanjing in anti-COVID-19 assistance to relevant parties in Cambridge in epidemic prevention and control. He hoped that both sides would strengthen cooperation, promote collaborative innovation and jointly cope with major global challenges.

The University of Cambridge will fully support the comprehensive development of the CUNJC, focusing on five aspects:

Expand the scope and scale of research, promote joint research projects, and encourage the participation of university researchers and local industry partners;

Guide the innovation-related departments of universities, including University of Cambridge Enterprise, and assist the industrial development in Nanjing;

Guide the university academic resources including Cambridge University Press to deepen cooperation with Nanjing;

Encourage Cambridge teachers and alumni to hold lectures and other activities in the centre;

Share Cambridge online education resources.

In his speech, Chris Wood spoke highly of the deepening of the partnership between Nanjing and the University of Cambridge, believing that the CUNJC is a representative case of Sino-British scientific and technological cooperation and that he will actively support the construction and development of the centre.

At the meeting, the CUNJC signed a memorandum of cooperation with University of Cambridge Enterprise, an intellectual property commercialization innovation organization of the University of Cambridge and also with Cambridge University Press;

The CUNJC has also signed a number of cooperation agreements with Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, Southeast University, Nanjing Tech University and some enterprises, and will carry out a series of cooperation in personnel training, industrial innovation, technology transformation, project incubation, etc. The “CUNJC-Tuspark (Jiangsu) Joint Entrepreneurship Base” jointly built with Tuspark (Jiangsu) Development Co., Ltd. was established.

Cambridge University Press and University of Cambridge Enterprise launched online promotion at the conference. Feng Jianfeng, Director of the Center for Computational System Biology of Fudan University, and Shi Luping, Director of Center for Brain-Inspired Computing Research, delivered keynote speeches.

The attending guests also included City leaders Luo Qun, Jiang Yuejian and Shen Jianrong, Chris Abel, Deputy Vice-chancellor of science and research of the University of Cambridge and academician of the Royal Society, Richard Prager, director of the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge and academician of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Daping Chu, CEO of the CUNJC, Chen Zhimin, Vice President of Fudan University, He Lianzhen, Vice President of Zhejiang University, Wang Zhenlin, Vice President of Nanjing University, Ren Lijian, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Southeast University, as well as representatives from other universities, enterprises and alumni.