Dr. Brendan Nelson, Australian Minister for Education, Science and Training, visited Tsinghua and delivered a speech titled “The Vision for Australian Education and Science and the importance of International Cooperation for Achieving the Vision” on July 4.

Tsinghua President Gu Binglin met and had a friendly talk with Dr. Nelson before the speech.

Dr. Nelson talked about the Australia’s national vision for advancing education and science and laid great emphasis on the importance of reaching out in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve greater educational and scientific cooperation. He particularly emphasized the strong and growing ties between China and Australia.

The Minister said he was delighted with the opportunity the educational exchanges provided, saying that they “will be of immense benefit to students’ careers” ,and more broadly, “will help to open their window to the world, bringing greater enriching students’ experiences and their personal and professional development.”

After the speech, Dr. Nelson and Mr. H.L.Kam, Deputy Managing Director, Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd, presented certificates to 13 Chinese universities which have been awarded undergraduate student exchange places with Australian university counterparts.

Elected to represent the Sydney electorate of Bradfield for the Liberal Party of Australia in 1996, Brendan Nelson was appointed by the Prime Minister to Cabinet as Minister for Education, Science and Training on 23 November 2001.

Reported by Li Han