On January 19, 2026, Hou Mingcai, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Chengdu University of Technology (CDUT) Committee and Vice President of the University, met with Professor Sean Mackney, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University (UK), and Associate Professor Matt Gaskin, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor, Planning and Development: Faculty of Health, Science and Technology. The two sides held discussions on advancing institutional cooperation. Representatives from the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation, the Graduate School, the Academic Affairs Office, the College of International Education (Oxford Brookes College), the Business School, the College of Computer Science and Cyber Security, and the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering attended the meeting and engaged in in-depth exchanges on topics including talent cultivation and research collaboration. The meeting was chaired by Lang Xianguo, Director of the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation and Party Secretary of the College of International Education (Oxford Brookes College).
At the meeting, Hou Mingcai extended a warm welcome to the visiting delegation. He noted that the two universities had recently reached a consensus on launching two joint postgraduate education programs, marking an important step forward in their partnership from undergraduate collaboration to a higher level of cooperation. Hou expressed the hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to further expand collaboration in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence.
Vice President Hou Mingcai delivering the welcome remarks
Professor Sean Mackney stated that the consensus on postgraduate-level cooperation provides a new platform and starting point for the partnership between the two institutions. He expressed his hope that the two universities would continue to broaden the scope of collaboration and further enhance both teaching quality and research capacity. Associate Professor Matt Gaskin emphasized the importance of mutual learning and exchange, suggesting that both sides deepen cooperation in research and strengthen the integration of industry, academia, and research.
Professor Sean Mackney delivering remarks
Professor Li Shan, Dean of the College of International Education (Oxford Brookes College), introduced the development needs of the cooperation between the two universities. She proposed strengthening collaboration in several areas: optimizing undergraduate joint programs and developing new engineering disciplines; establishing a joint postgraduate training model with dual supervisors; sharing research and international exchange resources to build high-level cooperation platforms; and exploring innovative AI-assisted teaching methods while strengthening practical training components.
Professor Wang Honghui, Executive Vice Dean of the College of Computer Science and Cyber Security, expressed the hope of strengthening cooperation in talent cultivation and research innovation. Professor Deng Xingqiao, Dean of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, suggested exploring deeper collaboration by leveraging Oxford Brookes University’s strengths in motorsport engineering.
During the open discussion session, participants from both sides exchanged views on strengthening disciplinary support and deepening research cooperation, reaching a number of shared understandings.
Group photo
At the conclusion of the meeting, the two sides exchanged gifts and took commemorative photographs. The delegation also visited the State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation as well as the university campus. The successful conclusion of this visit has clarified the direction for future endeavors and injected fresh momentum into the strategic partnership between the two institutions.
