Politecnico at the heart of academic dialogue between Europe and China

On 16 June, the 14th Workshop of the Sino-European Engineering Education Platform (SEEEP) was held at the University's main campus, as part of the CLUSTER network, currently led by Politecnico di Torino. Since its launch in Shanghai in 2010, SEEEP has brought together 18 leading Chinese technical universities and 12 prestigious European universities, which this year becomes 13 with the addition of the University of Strathclyde, including the seven founding members of the European University Alliance Unite!. SEEEP’s primary objective is to foster excellence in talent development, dual degree programmes, student and staff exchanges, and joint research. This also includes broader coordination within the network, which strengthens academic and scientific cooperation between European and Chinese partners. Building on this, the CLUSTER General Assembly will be held on 17 and 18 June, also hosted at Politecnico, confirming the University’s strategic role in the coordination of activities and the development of future directions for international collaboration.

Lecturers, researchers and academic delegations discussed strategic topics such as renewable energy sources, robotics and artificial intelligence, and nuclear energy. At the end of the day, a new SEEEP Memorandum of Understanding was signed, defining the framework for collaboration over the next five years. The agreement strengthens the partnership between the universities involved, promoting new opportunities for cooperation in education, research and international mobility, while consolidating existing activities in strategic areas such as sustainability, engineering and innovation.

The choice of Turin as the venue for the Forum and the SEEEP workshop underscores Politecnico's increasingly significant role in academic relations between Europe and China: ‘These two important events marked a key opportunity to consolidate existing scientific and educational partnerships and to develop new collaborations in strategic fields for the future, ranging from the energy transition to advanced technologies, and from design to architecture.’ – comments the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation Alberto Sapora – In particular, dialogue with Chinese universities remains of great importance for Politecnico di Torino, given the strategic role that China plays in the global landscape of research, innovation and advanced education. In today's increasingly complex international landscape, academic dialogue is an essential tool for fostering the exchange of knowledge, promoting innovation and building collaborative networks that can generate new opportunities for research, education and development for future generations".

Professor Roberto Zanino, Secretary General of the CLUSTER network, highlighted the significance of the new SEEEP Memorandum and the prospects for collaboration: “After fifteen years of collaboration with our Chinese partners in SEEEP, CLUSTER is renewing its commitment to building a strong, dynamic and far-reaching international community. The new memorandum envisages a growing commitment to organising exchanges, initiatives and opportunities for the communities of all the universities involved, demonstrating that research, education and cooperation between leading universities can forge lasting ties between Europe and China – ties that are well-structured and capable of responding to new global challenges".