Queen鈥檚 hosts joint sustainability workshop with Tongji University

Queen鈥檚 hosts joint sustainability workshop with Tongji University

By Mike Young, Communications Intern

July 21, 2015

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[International]
Queen's in the World

Queen鈥檚 and China鈥檚 Tongji University further deepened their academic connections during the first-ever Sino-Canada Workshop for Aquatic Environmental Sustainability.

Queen鈥檚 hosted the delegation from Tongji University, which is based in Shanghai, during the three-day workshop that took place both on campus and at the Queen鈥檚 University Biological Station (QUBS) last week.

鈥淥ur partnership with our friends at Tongji will continue to provide students from both institutions with unique experiential learning opportunities and access to cutting-edge research facilities,鈥 says Yuxiang Wang, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Director of the Environmental Physiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Lab at Queen鈥檚.

[Environmental station plaque]
Dr. Hugh Horton, Associate Dean (International) in the Faculty of Arts and
Science with Dr. Jianfu Zhao, Professor at the College of Environmental
Science and Engineering, Jiaxing Tongji Institute for the Environment, standing
with the newly unveiled sign for Tongji's new environmental station.

Participants in the workshop discussed Sino-Canada environmental education and research co-operation, environmental monitoring and pollution control/rehabilitation.

鈥淎quatic science at Queen鈥檚 is very highly regarded internationally,鈥 says Dr. Wang. 鈥淲e鈥檝e approached our partnership with Tongji with a focus on building meaningful relationships that are sustained through meetings, workshops, student and scholarly exchange, and collaborative research and development such as this one.鈥

Both universities hope to hold the workshop every year in an effort to facilitate further dialogue about pressing national and international environmental issues.

鈥淥ur environmental issues in China are not just China鈥檚 鈥 they鈥檙e global,鈥 says Jianfu Zhao, past dean and current professor at the College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Jiaxing Tongji Institute for the Environment and the CEO of the new Tongji-Hongkou Technology and Innovation Park. 鈥淚 trust this and future workshops will serve to bolster ongoing fruitful collaborations between our universities.鈥

Last week鈥檚 workshop kicked-off with the unveiling of a plaque for China鈥檚 new environmental station. The Yangtze River Environmental Specimen Bank, which is a sister station to QUBS, will reside in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China, and will house opportunities for students to interact intimately with Chinese ecological research and samples that will be collected in the field.

鈥淲hereas most networks like Sino-Canada focus on either teaching, research or industry, we鈥檝e been able to establish something that is multi-faceted and interdisciplinary,鈥 says Hugh Horton, Associate Dean (International) in the Faculty of Arts and Science. 鈥淲e continue to make our teaching, research and industry efforts work to support one another within this unique partnership.鈥

[Sino Workshop]
Participants from 成人大片 with delegates from Tongji University 
at the first Sino-Canada Workshop for Aquatic Environmental Sustainability.

Presenters at this year鈥檚 workshop included Yuxiang Wang (Biology) and Professor Rongchang Wang (Tongji University), as well as QUBS Director, Professor Stephen Lougheed. Also actively involved in the collaborative research with Tongji are Professor Brian Cumming (Environmental Studies and Biology), Steven Liss, Vice-Principal (Research), Professor Dan Lefebvre (Biology), Professor Stephen Brown (Chemistry) and Professor Kathryn Stewart (Tongji University). 

The was established in 2013, a year after Queen鈥檚 and Tongji formalized their relationship by signing a memorandum of understanding. Last year, Queen鈥檚 and Tongji established a whereby Tongji students complete two years of study at their home institution before coming to Queen鈥檚 for their final two years. The first batch of Tongji students are scheduled to arrive on Queen鈥檚 campus in the fall of 2015. Expanding the university鈥檚 international reach is a strategic priority for Queen鈥檚 and China is one of the university鈥檚 areas of focus for developing academic and research partnerships.