The NPU delegation is at the University of Twente today and tomorrow. The goal of this international visit is to evaluate and to further the long-term collaboration between the two universities, which have worked together since the 1990’s. So far this cooperation has mainly involved the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science and consisted of, among other things, staff exchange, joint research projects or integrated BSc and MSc programs.
Northwestern Polytechnical University
Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) is located in the city of Xi’an in north-west China. It’s directed by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and specializes in education and research in the fields of aeronautic, astronautic and marine engineering.
Joint laboratory
Now the UT and NPU plan to strengthen their partnership. During an official ceremony today, NPU President Wang Jinsong and UT Rector Thom Palstra signed the aforementioned agreements, specifically the agreements to start a Double doctoral degree program and the Joint Laboratory of Nanofluidics and Interfaces (LONI).
‘In the joint laboratory we are sharing knowledge and technology on micro- and nanofluidics and lab on a chip technologies,’ explains Prof. Jan Eijkel, who will lead the lab on behalf of the UT. ‘We have already published a number of papers and conference proceedings together in the fields of microfluidic energy conversion, microfabrication technology and nanofluidics. We plan to apply for funding, start projects together and have shared PhD students.’
Professorship Awarding Ceremony
Today’s meeting was also the occasion for the official Professorship Awarding Ceremony, during which Jan Eijkel (BIOS group) was appointed as a NPU Adjunct Professor and Albert van den Berg (BIOS group) as a NPU Consultant Professor. At this position, he joins another UT professor, Detlef Lohse, who was also appointed as a consultant professor of NPU in October 2017.
