On May 20, a delegation from the University of Otago (UO), New Zealand, led by Professor Charles Brennan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UO, accompanied by Indrawati Oey, Chief Professor of the Department of Food Science, and Miranda Mirosa, Head of the Department of Food Science, paid an official visit to Hebei Agricultural University (HEBAU) for targeted cooperation negotiations. Professor Zhang Lijie, Party Secretary of HEBAU, and Professor Zhao Jianjun, President of HEBAU, met with the UO delegation respectively and delivered official remarks at the session. The negotiation was chaired by Professor Zhou Chunjiang, Vice President of HEBAU, with heads of relevant colleges and functional departments in attendance.

Professor Zhang Lijie extended a cordial welcome to the UO delegation. He noted that UO, New Zealand’s oldest and most comprehensive higher education institution, boasts a leading global reputation in fields including food science and biotechnology. He emphasized that the two universities share a solid cooperation foundation and broad development prospects, expressing his expectation that this visit will serve as a key opportunity to deepen collaborative ties across Sino-foreign cooperative education, joint talent cultivation, faculty exchange, and collaborative scientific innovation.

Professor Zhao Jianjun stated that HEBAU attaches high strategic importance to its long-term partnership with UO, with unwavering commitment and clear cooperation objectives. He proposed that both sides prioritize three core cooperation areas — joint education programs, faculty exchanges and joint scientific research, as well as sharing of curriculum and teaching resources— to accelerate the implementation of cooperation outcomes, so as to achieve complementary strengths and mutual benefits for both sides.

Professor Charles Brennan spoke highly of HEBAU’s outstanding achievements in agricultural talent development and technological innovation. He recalled that in November 2025, Secretary Zhang Lijie led a HEBAU delegation to visit UO, where the two sides signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding to lay a solid framework for subsequent bilateral cooperation. He expressed hope that both universities would leverage their respective disciplinary strengths to expand cooperation scope and elevate collaboration standards, ensuring practical and sustainable outcomes. Professors Indrawati Oey and Miranda Mirosa presented overviews of UO’s institutional profile, the distinctive strengths of its Department of Food Science, and its ongoing international cooperation initiatives.

Following the negotiation, Professor Charles Brennan and his delegation held interactive exchange sessions with HEBAU faculty and students from the College of Food Science and Technology and the Magdeburg Faculty of Engineering, and conducted on-site inspections of the College of Food Science and Technology Internship and Training Center, the State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, and the Modern Agricultural Experience Center.

This visit further consolidated the cooperative foundation between HEBAU and UO, and laid a solid groundwork for building a long-term, stable, and mutually beneficial international partnership. Both sides will refine and accelerate the implementation plans for key areas including joint educational programs, student and faculty exchanges, and collaborative research, aiming to deliver tangible, early outcomes of all cooperative initiatives.

Professor Zhang Lijie, Party Secretary of HEBAU, Delivers Remarks

Professor Zhao Jianjun, President of HEBAU, Delivers Remarks

Professor Charles Brennan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UO, Delivers Remarks

‌Cooperation Negotiation Between Delegations