A ceremony was held for 22 graduate students of Tsinghua University, who have taken part in a joint master program by Tsinghua and RWTH Aachen in Production Engineering and Automotive Engineering, to confer them degrees in the Reception Hall of the Main Building in Tsinghua University on July 30. President of Tsinghua University Gu Binglin, Dr. Rauhut, Rector of RWTH Aachen, Mr. Cao Guoxing, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, Ministry of Education, China, Dr. Wolf-Dieter Dudenhausen, State Secretary in Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, attended the ceremony. Professor Gong Ke, Vice President of Tsinghua, hosted the ceremony.

Professor Gong briefly introduced the history of the project. President Gu and Dr. Rauhut conferred the academic degree to the graduates.

Dr. Rauhut and President Gu delivered speeches respectively at the ceremony. Dr. Rauhut congratulated the students on their accomplishments and hoped the program could be extended to other subjects in the future. On behalf of Tsinghua University, President Gu gave congratulations to the seated students and extended thanks to all who have made their efforts on the success of the project.

“The ceremony here today marks one of the most important milestones in your life”, said President Gu, “ you have had the opportunity to study in the Tsinghua-Aachen joint program, which provides you not only well designed coursework but also the opportunity to explore the outside world and broaden your global perspective.” He said that the students should take over the tradition of Tsinghua University to make lasting contributions to the advancement of science and technology, to the sustainable development of the country, and to the peace of the world.

Mister Cao Guoxing and Dr. Wolf-Dieter Dudenhausen also spoke at the ceremony.

In 1999, an agreement on Sino-German joint project for graduate education was signed by Ms. Bulmahn, Federal Minister of Education and Research of Germany, and Mrs. Chen Zhili, Minister of Education of China. Tsinghua University and RWTH Aachen had been appointed to be the collaborative partners as the pioneer institutions for this project. The first group of Tsinghua students started their 18-month coursework in Aachen in 2001. Since then Tsinghua has continuously sent 30 students to Aachen every year as well as hosts German students to study in Tsinghua.

Founded in 1870, RWTH-Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfalisch Technische Hochschule Aachen，RWTH-Aachen ) is one of the biggest universities in Europe, ranking among the very best universities of science and engineering in Germany.

Reported by Li Han

Photoed by Guo Haijun