On the morning of July 12, Professor Dr. Thomas Hirth, Vice-President Transfer and International Affairs at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), led a delegation on a tour of ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center (HIC-ZJU). WANG Lizhong, Vice President of Zhejiang University graciously received the distinguished guests. The meeting also saw participation from YANG Jianyi, Director of HIC-ZJU, together with HIC-ZJU officials, and leaders from the Global Sci-tech Innovation and Industrial Development Research Center at ZJU. 

During the meeting, YANG Jianyi provided the delegation with an overview of HIC-ZJU. In response, Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth introduced KIT’s history and recent development. The participants also engaged in a thorough exchange on international cooperation between HIC-ZJU and KIT, and explored viable collaboration patterns in areas such as soil pollution control and remediation, advanced semiconductor materials, extreme optical technology, as well as sci-tech finance and incubation.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth lauded HIC-ZJU for its fruitful achievement. He expected to strengthen mutual understanding, and hoped that since HIC-ZJU and KIT are “anchored in research, and attuned to industry”, both institutions shall leverage this unique advantage to foster collaboration across multi-dimensional fields. He looked forward to collaborating with HIC-ZJU to further step up in international exchanges and cooperation, sharing of scientific and technological innovations and interaction among talents. 

WANG Lizhong, on behalf of Zhejiang University, extended a heartfelt welcome to Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth and his delegation. He indicated that KIT is a leading research university and Zhejiang University has always attached great importance to establishing cooperative relationships with world-class universities, including KIT. He expressed optimism about exploring future cooperation between HIC-ZJU and KIT in research projects, talent programs, talent cultivation and industrial development. Meanwhile, he shed light on Zhejiang's well-established business environment and encouraged KIT to take this advantage and implement more research projects here.

Before the meeting, the delegation also toured HIC-ZJU’s Shuibo Zone exhibition hall, the State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials (Institute of Information and Functional Materials), and the State Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation (Institute of Extreme Optical Technology and Instrumentation), gaining a more insightful understanding of HIC-ZJU’s infrastructure and development, as well as its cutting-edge technological prowess and scientific advancements in related fields.