On the morning of June 5, the unveiling ceremony for the Shouyi International Campus of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law(ZUEL) was grandly held on the Shouyi Campus. Distinguished guests from China and Italy, faculty representatives from Sapienza University of Rome(Sapienza), administrative heads, faculty and student representatives of ZUEL, as well as representatives from Sino-Italian partner institutions in Hubei Province gathered to witness a new milestone in the development of ZUEL’s international education.
Massimo Ambrosetti, Italian Ambassador to China; Zhang Xiaomei, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Hubei Provincial People’s Government; Li Zhan, Deputy Mayor of Wuhan; Huang Nianping, Level II Bureau Rank Official of the Department of Education of Hubei Province; Yu Feng, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Wuhan Municipal People’s Government; Antonella Polimeni, Rector of the Sapienza University of Rome; Giuseppe Ciccarone, Vice Rector of the Sapienza University of Rome; Hou Zhenfa, Secretary of the Party Committee of ZUEL; Zhu Fangwei, President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of ZUEL; and Xu Diyi, Vice President of ZUEL, among other Chinese and international guests, attended the ceremony.
Ambassador Ambosetti stated that the Shouyi International Campus has taken root and flourished through the joint establishment of the School of Law and Economics by the two partner universities. Its academic programs are deeply grounded in the millennium-old heritage of Roman law, while strategically focusing on cutting-edge disciplines such as artificial intelligence. This campus initiative aligns with a series of bilateral educational cooperation agreements between China and Italy. It is believed that the Shouyi International Campus will continue to inject fresh vitality into academic and cultural exchanges between the two countries, sustaining enduring prosperity and dynamism.
Jia Peng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange at the Ministry of Education, delivered remarks via video link. He remarked that in recent years, the Ministry of Education has actively implemented the important consensus reached by Chinese and Italian leaders on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. He added that the School of Law and Economics, jointly founded by ZUEL and Sapienza University of Rome, is an important component of bilateral higher education cooperation, and he wished steady progress for the construction of the Shouyi International Campus.
Zhang Xiaomei, on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hubei Provincial People’s Government, delivered a speech. She noted that the Shouyi International Campus represents a new fruitful achievement of collaboration between Sapienza University of Rome and ZUEL, marking a significant milestone in educational cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between Hubei and Italy. It is poised to become a model for international educational collaboration and a benchmark for the development of international campuses.
Huang Nianping, on behalf of the Hubei Provincial Department of Education, delivered a speech in which he pointed out that Hubei Province, as a major educational hub in China, attaches great importance to educational exchanges and cooperation with Italy. ZUEL-Sapienza School of Law and Economics(LES) represents an innovative platform to advance interdisciplinary innovation and cultivate international interdisciplinary talents. The Hubei Provincial Department of Education will continue to fully support the construction and development of the Shouyi International Campus.
Hou Zhenfa noted in his speech that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the collaboration between ZUEL and Sapienza University of Rome, and the official unveiling of the Shouyi International Campus stands as a landmark in the partnership. At a time of accelerating global shifts and booming AI technologies, ZUEL will jointly build the international campus with Sapienza University of Rome and cooperate with Wuhan Municipal People’s Government to develop an “International Exchange Center”, opening a brand-new chapter for Sino-Italian educational cooperation.
Rector Antonella Polimeni stated that China and Italy have repeatedly highlighted the value of academic cooperation and scholar exchanges, which serves as a bridge for bilateral dialogue and mutual understanding. The Shouyi International Campus embodies this spirit of partnership. The ties between Spaienza University of Rome and ZUEL have gone far beyond traditional university cooperation, as its greater significance lies in building a bridge for mutual connectivity and exchanges.
President Zhu Fangwei elaborated on the overall plan of Shouyi International Campus construction. The campus combines the disciplinary strengths, educational philosophies and development visions of both universities to innovate a school-running system of “One Integrated Entity, Two Colleges, Three Zones and Four Dimensions of Integration” (referring to one unified governing body, two Sino-Italian joint colleges, three campus functional zones, and four core integration pathways covering disciplines, faculty, talent training and culture). It aims to create a new model of Sino-Italian joint education featuring flexible governance, cutting-edge disciplines, in-depth Sino-foreign integration and outstanding educational quality and efficiency.
The unveiling ceremony was hosted by Xu Diyu, Vice President of ZUEL.
Witnessed by all guests, Rector Antonella Polimeni and President Zhu Fangwei jointly unveiled the plaque of “Shouyi International Campus, ZUEL”. Senior officials and guests including Massimo Ambrosetti, Zhang Xiaomei, Li Zhan, Huang Nianping, Hou Zhenfa and Giuseppe Ciccarone took the stage to mark the occasion.
After the ceremony, guests visited the exhibition of in-depth cooperation achievements between Sino-Italian universities, gaining a full overview of the two institutions’ partnership journey and milestone outcomes across different phases.
At the Rectors’ Roundtable, the two sides discussed the mechanisms of cooperation, research collaboration, disciplinary development and the construction of an interdisciplinary joint international research center, and clarified the directions for further cooperation.
At the end of the event, the guests visited the teaching zones and newly built student dormitories of Shouyi International Campus, conducting a detailed inspection of campus planning, hardware facilities and educational conditions.
The official opening of Shouyi International Campus marks an important milestone in the international development of ZUEL. Taking this as a new starting point, ZUEL will follow open education, make efforts to strengthen international cooperation, expand the scope and level of exchanges, promote high-quality development through high-standard opening-up, and inject strong momentum into building a world-class university distinctive in economics, law and politics.
Reported by: Hou Jing, Gao Ying
Photographed by: Du Peng, Cui Zhenzhen