Former Tsinghua president Wang Dazhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Science and honorary director of the University Council, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Paris Institute of Technology in Paris on Feb. 5.

To date four scholars, including Wang Dazhong, have received this prestigious honor. They are: Janne Carlsson, former dean of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden and the former dean of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science; Adriano De Maio, the former president of the Milan Institute of Technology, former board member of the Paris Institute of Technology, and the president of Luiss Guido Carli University; and Professor Ted Belytschko, of Northwestern University in the U.S.

The honorary Ph.D. conferred upon Wang Dazhong not only reflects on his personal achievements in education but also represents the world community’s respect for the development of higher education in China, according to the president of the Paris Institute of Technology.

The conferral of honorary degrees is an indispensable part of the Strategy of Internationalizing French Universities. The Paris Institute of Technology has been in cooperation with Tsinghua since 1996.