Tsinghua University partners with the BU Division of Systems Engineering
In the current spirit of promoting scientific and educational collaborations across departments, campuses, and universities, Boston University has reached out transnationally by signing a significant agreement on Friday, May 6, 2016 with Tsinghua University, Beijing, China for the establishment of a dual degree program. The agreement was signed by Boston University President, Dr. Robert A. Brown and Tsinghua President, Dr. Qiu Yong.
The College of Engineering, in particular, the Division of Systems Engineering, initiated the discussions with Tsinghua, with Dean Kenneth Lutchen of the College of Engineering, Professor Christos Cassandras, Head of the Division of Systems Engineering, and Hua Wang, Associate Head of the Division of Systems Engineering leading negotiations on behalf of Boston University.
“Tsinghua University is one of the premier universities in China with well-established educational and research activities in Systems Engineering. Several members of the Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE) and the Division of Systems Engineering, have existing collaborations with Tsinghua faculty members. We expect that this agreement will build on those existing collaborative relationships by further advancing joint graduate degree programs, as well as strengthen research collaborations involving faculty and students,” stated Professor Cassandras.
Designed by the Department of Automation at Tsinghua and the Division of Systems Engineering, the dual degree program will attract exceptional undergraduate students from Tsinghua to the M.S. program in Systems Engineering at Boston University. In some cases, admitted students completing two semesters of course work at BU will return to Tsinghua and complete a final practicum requirement in Beijing. Professor Hua Wang, enthusiastic about the new program, stated that “with this agreement, we not only can enhance our research collaborations with our colleagues at Tsinghua, but we are particularly excited to work with Tsinghua students selected through a rigorous evaluation and admissions process. We have designed a curriculum featuring the best courses and projects to take advantage of the synergistic relationship between the two institutions. This collaboration will add an exciting dimension to the academic programs of both sides.”
A previous collaboration with China was established in October 2014 when BU signed an agreement with Zhejiang University, setting a precedent for a successful international collaboration with a Chinese institution of higher education. That agreement was spearheaded by Professor Ioannis Paschalidis, Director of the Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE) and established a framework of cooperation between the College of Engineering at BU through CISE and the Faculty of Information Technology at Zhejiang through its State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology.
