From October 6th to 10th, 2025, Vice School President Lu Yanqing led a delegation to visit King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, where they participated in the 2025 World Academic Summit organized by Times Higher Education (THE).

This summit was themed "Universities: Drivers of Social Progress". During the summit, our delegation actively participated in multiple conference discussions and had in-depth exchanges with representatives from world-class universities such as the University of Oxford, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, University College London, King's College London, and Durham University, exploring opportunities for scientific research innovation and international cooperation.

During this visit, Lu Yanqing met with Sir Edward Byrne, the president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Lu Yanqing highlighted the latest progress made by Nanjing University in the construction of its strong disciplines, scientific and technological innovation, first-class talent cultivation, and internationalized education. He stated that the two universities have complementary strengths and can achieve resource sharing and mutual benefit in areas such as talent cultivation and cooperative research. Sir Edward Byrne congratulated Nanjing University on its achievements in discipline construction and international development, and inquired about the construction and development of the Suzhou campus. Both sides hope to carry out in-depth cooperation in the fields of food, water, and energy.

In order to further promote academic exchanges and scientific research cooperation between the two universities, the delegation held a meeting with several renowned professors from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Lu Yanqing provided a detailed introduction to our university's internationalization projects, including the "International Visiting Scholar Program" and the "International Research Cooperation Enhancement Program", and sincerely invited the attending scholars to visit Nanjing University. At the same time, the delegation also held a talent presentation event for Nanjing University, providing young scholars with a comprehensive introduction to the history and current situation of Nanjing University, its disciplinary advantages and talent policies.

In addition, Lu Yanqing and his team visited alumni of Nanyang University who were studying and working at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. They expressed concern about the current situation of their work and life, encouraged them to strive for higher achievements in research, and hoped that all the alumni would continue to pay attention to the development of their alma mater and visit it frequently.

The heads of the Department of Discipline Construction and Development Planning and the Department of Internationalization Affairs accompanied the delegation on the visit.