On the occasion of the Technical University of Munich’s 150th anniversary, its liaison office in China, TUM Beijing, organized a series of events on the campus of Beihang University, a TUM partner since 2007 and, since January 2018, the new ‚home‘ of TUM Beijing itself.
With TUM Senior Vice President for International Alliances and Alumni, Professor Juliane Winkelmann, present, the TUM Day launched with senior executives of both partners exploring new collaboration formats. In the near future, the TUM-Beihang partnership is to be strengthened by means of an exchange of doctoral students and a joint funding application in the frame of the Erasmus+ program. In particular, TUM’s new Department of Aeronautics, Aerospace and Geodesy will serve as a platform for further collaborations. During the TUM Day’s Opening Ceremony, both partners signed a new letter of intent to express their commitment to intensifying the partnership.
Moreover, the TUM Day events included the opening of a picture exhibition on 150 years of TUM, the formal inauguration of TUM Beijing on Beihang’s campus, and an academic talk by Professor Florian Holzapfel (TUM) and Professor Shuguang Zhang (Beihang), on the topic of “Urban Aerial Mobility”. In the afternoon, an alumni forum attracted more than 180 students and their parents.
In the evening, the TUM Day concluded with a celebratory reception which was attended by more than 100 guests, including many alumni. Many of them had traveled to Beijing from all over China. In her welcome remarks, Senior Vice President Winkelmann emphasized the central role of China in TUM’s internationalization strategy, and encouraged the audience to further contribute to the many exchanges between TUM and its Chinese partners and supporters. In personal conversations, many attendees expressed their continuing affection for TUM, and so the TUM Day closed with a celebration of not only 150 years of TUM, but also of the university’s many relationships in China.
A special thanks goes to Zhenshan Jin, TUM Beijing Liaison Officer, who primarily planned and organized the event.