The opening ceremony and seminar of the Co-Innovation Center of Regional Environment Quality （CICREQ）was held in SOE on May 27.

CICREQ was jointly launched by THU, Peking University (PKU), Nanjing University (NJU) and Tongji University (TJU). In attendance at the ceremony included, Mr. Li Ganjie, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ms. Lou Jing, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Mr. Tian Baoguo, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Social Development (DSD), Ministry of Science and Technology, Prof. Ji Junmin, Vice-president of THU, Prof. Gao Song, Provost of PKU, Prof. Li Cheng, President Assistant of NJU, and Prof. Wu Guangming, President Assistant of TJU. More than 100 faculty members and students from these four universities were also present.

During the ceremony, Mr. Li, Mr. Tian and Ms. Lou delivered speeches respectively. Mr. Li noticed that CICREQ would contribute to the cooperation among relevant universities, institutions and enterprises and be an important part in national environmental science and technology support system.

With the demand of regional combined pollution prevention and control during the strategic transformation period of Chinese national development, CICREQ was set up to solve international hot environmental issues with respect to the source, the cause, the impact and relative control. Meanwhile, it also aimed at helping to improve the Chinese national environment quality with key scientific theories, core technology and creative talents.