From September 8 to 11, 2026, Gao Liang, Vice President of Beijing Jiaotong University, held separate meetings with delegations from the University of Birmingham (UK), the University of Waterloo (Canada), University Malaysia Pahang Al‑Sultan Abdullah, and the National Institute of Transport (Tanzania).

Gao Liang extended a welcome to the visit of the delegation from University of Birmingham. He pointed out that the University of Birmingham is one of the most important strategic partners of BJTU. He briefed the guests on the university’s latest progress in talent cultivation, discipline development, the “One University, Multiple Campuses” initiative, Sino‑foreign cooperative education, and services for the national rail transit industry. He noted that BJTU’s strong disciplines including Robotics Engineering, Rail Transit Signaling and Control, Railway Engineering, and Electrical Engineering and Automation are highly compatible with those of the University of Birmingham. He hoped to take this visit as an opportunity to advance pragmatic cooperation between the two universities in talent cultivation, joint scientific research and Sino‑foreign cooperative education.

Karl Dearn, Vice President of University of Birmingham, Alaric Rae, Vice Director of the External Liaison Office, and Vivian Zheng, Director of the China Office, expressed gratitude for BJTU’s hospitality. They introduced the University of Birmingham’s institutional features, teaching and research strengths and international talent‑cultivation programs. They reviewed the long‑standing history of friendly cooperation between the two sides, spoke highly of BJTU’s contributions to national rail transit development, and looked forward to further expanding bilateral cooperation.

During the talks with the delegation from University of Waterloo, Gao Liang stated that the jointly‑run “Nano‑Materials and Technology” program between the two universities has operated steadily for 12 years with sound educational outcomes and social reputation. He expected both sides to further expand space for cooperative education in strong engineering disciplines.

Chris Houser, Dean of the Faculty of Science, and Graham Murphy, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science at University of Waterloo, thanked BJTU for the reception. They recalled the long‑term fruitful cooperation and hoped to scale up faculty‑and‑student exchanges, as well as pursue more in‑depth, substantive cooperation in joint scientific research and Sino‑foreign cooperative education.

When meeting the delegation from University Malaysia Pahang Al‑Sultan Abdullah, Gao Liang said that since the launch of the joint bachelor’s dual‑degree training program in 2021, the two universities have continuously met the talent demands arising from the construction of Malaysia’s East Coast Railway. Building on existing cooperation outcomes, the two sides will promote joint student training and two‑way faculty‑and‑student exchanges to cultivate more high‑caliber talents for China‑Malaysia rail transit cooperation.

Yatimah Binti Alias, President of University Malaysia Pahang Al‑Sultan Abdullah, gave an overview of the university’s development. She hoped to expand cooperation in faculty‑and‑student exchanges, joint training, and industry‑university‑research collaborative innovation, so as to jointly support the construction of Malaysia’s East Coast Railway project.

In the meeting with the delegation from the National Institute of Transport of Tanzania, Gao Liang remarked that since the two institutions were selected for the Sino‑African Hundred‑University Cooperation Program in 2024, they have achieved fruitful cooperation results. He hoped both sides would further deepen collaboration in faculty‑and‑student exchanges, curriculum development, joint scientific research and professional capacity‑building to empower infrastructure development in Tanzania.

Mgaya Prosper Lutangilo, President of the National Institute of Transport, introduced the basic profile of the institute. He spoke highly of BJTU’s achievements in rail transit and expected closer cooperation in talent cultivation, joint scientific research and railway technology training.

During the visit, the guests toured the University Museum and relevant engineering laboratories, and held panel discussions with heads of schools.

Deans, directors and relevant staff from School of Automation and Intelligence, School of Traffic and Transportation, School of Civil Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering, School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, College of International Education, and Office of International Affairs participated in the respective meetings.