By Li Han

Staff writer of the Tsinghua News Center

Tsinghua President Gu Binglin attended the 2nd Secretary-General’s Global Colloquium of University Presidents held at Princeton University on Feb. 14-15.

The colloquium, which attracted more than 30 presidents and faculty experts from over 20 countries, highlighted two themes: the social benefits of the research university in the 21st century and innovative sources of funding for global goods.

Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, hosted the event.

President Gu delivered a speech at the colloquium. Other speakers from Tsinghua included Professor Shi Jinghuan, deputy vice-director of the Institute of Education, and Professor He Kebin, director of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange.

During the event, President Gu talked with presidents of several universities including Princeton,  Columbia University, the University of Sydney, and Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, exchanging ideas on cooperation. 

President Gu also paid a visit to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), discussing joint-education programs for Tsinghua and UIUC students, and signing a contract for co-education of Ph.D. students in the field of environmental studies. He also met with more than 70 Tsinghua alumni in Chicago.