In 2025, Liaoning University (LNU) thoroughly implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully served the national strategy of high-level opening-up and the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China in the new era, and coordinated the advancement of educational opening-up with the “Double First-Class” initiative. The university achieved a series of practical outcomes in expanding its international cooperation network, building high-level exchange platforms, cultivating internationalized talent, and fostering industry-university-research collaborative innovation.
Highlight 1: Hosting Multiple Provincial Conferences and Training Sessions, Highlighting LNU’s Role as a Platform for Education Opening-Up in Liaoning
In 2025, leveraging its comprehensive strengths in foreign exchange and cooperation as well as Chinese-foreign cooperative education, LNU was entrusted by departments including the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Liaoning Province and the Educational Department of Liaoning Province to assist in and host several province-wide meetings and specialized training events. On January 21, the Liaoning Provincial University Foreign Exchange and Cooperation Forum was held at LNU’s Puhe Campus, where 23 universities within the province exchanged insights on progress and key challenges in international cooperation. From May 8 to 9, the Liaoning Provincial Training Workshop on Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education, organized by the Educational Department of Liaoning Province and hosted by LNU, was successfully conducted, with relevant heads from 45 institutions across the province participating. On August 26, the Liaoning Provincial Policy Briefing on Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education was held at the university, systematically interpreting policy practices from legal, financial, and management perspectives according to the latest requirements, attracting nearly 80 representatives from 29 provincial universities. On December 24, the Liaoning Education Association for International Exchange High-Quality Development Seminar convened at LNU, where participating universities engaged in in-depth discussions on international exchanges, study in China, Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run education, and international Chinese language education. The smooth execution of these activities reflects the full recognition by provincial authorities of LNU’s professional capability and organizational support, further highlighting the university’s active role in serving the province’s educational opening-up and high-quality development.
Highlight 2: Continuous Expansion of High-Level International Cooperation with Substantial Breakthroughs in Key Regional Layouts
In 2025, Liaoning University adhered to the principle of balancing expansion with consolidation, continuously optimized its global partnership network, and made positive progress in international cooperation. Throughout the year, the university established formal cooperative relationships with 15 renowned overseas universities and research institutions, including the University of Nottingham (UK), Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ, Brazil), and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (USA), while successfully renewing agreements with 10 existing partner institutions, further solidifying the foundation for international collaboration. These partnerships cover key cooperative regions such as Europe, Latin America, and Northeast Asia, achieving substantive breakthroughs particularly in expanding collaborations with Spanish-speaking countries and South America. The signing of these agreements has enhanced the university’s global strategic layout, broadened channels for international education and research cooperation, and provided solid support for accelerating the construction of a comprehensive, multi-level, and more balanced foreign exchange and cooperation system.
Highlight 3: Standardized and Effective Organization of Official Overseas Visits, Driving External Cooperation to Higher Levels
In 2025, LNU strictly implemented national and provincial regulations concerning the management of official overseas visits, emphasizing both standardized procedures and result-oriented planning. The university processed 42 official overseas delegations involving 72 person-trips, including 4 at the departmental-director level and 38 at or below the division-level approved independently by the university. The organization of visits became more standardized, cooperation objectives clearer, and overall effectiveness significantly improved. From October 5 to 8, Professor Pan Yishan, Secretary of the University Party Committee, led a delegation to Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium. They held in-depth discussions on educational cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, consolidating existing cooperation and exploring new areas of inter-university collaboration, culminating in an exchange of inter-university agreements. From November 5 to 8, Professor Huo Chunhui, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President, led a delegation to Ufa University of Science and Technology and Irkutsk State University in Russia. Building upon previous cooperative achievements, they further expanded space for educational and cultural exchanges, promoting university cooperation with Russia into broader and deeper dimensions, and signed relevant cooperation agreements with both institutions.
Highlight 4: High-Quality Completion of Major Foreign Affairs Reception Tasks, Fully Demonstrating LNU’s Role as a Bridge in Serving National Diplomacy and Local Opening-Up
In 2025, LNU fully leveraged the bridging role of foreign affairs reception work, successfully completing 31 important reception tasks throughout the year, hosting over 140 foreign guests from 17 countries, effectively serving the overall national diplomacy and the local opening-up landscape. This year, Mr. Viternikov, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, led a delegation to LNU. Professor Yu Miaojie, President of LNU, held in-depth exchanges with the visitors, reaching consensus on promoting practical cooperation between Chinese and Russian universities in education and humanities. Professor Ye Minsheng, Vice President of Singapore University of Social Sciences, led a delegation for a visit, accompanied by relevant officials from the Liaoning Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Educational Department of Liaoning Province. Both sides exchanged views on joint training and research collaboration. During his visit, H. E. Scott Dewar, the Australian Ambassador to China, spoke highly of the achievements in cooperative education between LNU and Australian universities. He also held friendly talks on deepening educational and people-to-people exchanges between China and Australia. These well-organized and highly effective reception activities further elevated the level and substance of the university’s external exchanges, showcasing LNU’s positive image and sense of responsibility in serving external exchanges and international cooperation.
Highlight 5: Sustained Improvement in Scale and Quality of Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education with Expansion of Landmark Projects
In 2025, the scale of the university’s Sino-foreign cooperative education achieved a substantial increase. The application for enrollment expansion by the Asia-Australia Business College (AABC) was approved by the Ministry of Education. The total enrollment scale for 2026 will increase from 1,800 to 3,220 students, further expanding the university’s operational capacity and training scale. On June 18, Vice President Huo Chunhui signed a cooperative education expansion agreement with Monty Singh, Vice-Chancellor (International) of Victoria University, Australia. Both parties highly affirmed the positive achievements made in the joint construction of the AABC over the past 26 years. The signing of the student enrollment expansion agreement marks a new stage for the university’s Chinese-foreign cooperative education, characterized by equal emphasis on quality improvement and scale optimization, providing stronger institutional support for deepening high-level cooperative education and perfecting the international talent training system.
Highlight 6: LNU Approved for China Scholarship Council’s “Innovative Talent International Cooperation Training Project”
In December, the “International Talent Training Project for AI-Driven Sustainable Development and Innovation & Entrepreneurship”, led by Professor Huo Chunhui and organized by the Department of International Exchange, was successfully approved by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This marks the university’s first breakthrough in this specific project category. Relying on cooperation with universities such as the University of Cambridge and the University of Sussex in the UK, the project will systematically advance the cultivation of high-level international talent, providing powerful support for the university’s discipline construction and the strategy of strengthening the school through talent.
Highlight 7: Successful Hosting of the 2025 International Industry-University-Research-Application Cooperation Conference at LNU
In December, LNU successfully hosted the 2025 International Industry-University-Research-Application Cooperation Conference series, specifically the “Mine Geological Disaster Governance and Ecological Restoration Seminar & Northern Environment Forum” and the “International Academic Symposium on China's Long-Term Economic Development”. The conferences gathered experts and scholars from renowned domestic and foreign universities and research institutions to conduct in-depth discussions on frontier topics such as ecological governance, China’s economic development, and the revitalization of Northeast China, fully demonstrating LNU’s role as a platform in high-level international academic exchange and service to regional development.
Highlight 8: LNU Partners with Virginia Tech for Joint Master’s Degree Program in Economics
In August, LNU officially signed a cooperation agreement with Virginia Tech (USA). Leveraging the professional strengths of both universities in the field of economics, the partnership launched a “1+1+1” joint training dual-degree program at the master’s level. In September, the program’s recruitment presentation was successfully held. Targeted at first-year master’s students across the six colleges under the Faculty of Economics, the project fully integrates the disciplinary advantages of both parties, building a stable platform for cultivating high-level economics talent with international competitiveness. It stands as a significant achievement in the university’s deepening of substantive international talent training cooperation.
Highlight 9: Continuous Expansion of Student Exchange Channels and Elevation of “Going Global” Initiatives
In 2025, LNU persisted in empowering talent cultivation through high-level external exchanges, continuously expanding channels for students’ international learning and practice. The “Going Global” initiative for students yielded significant results. The university organized multiple batches of students to conduct overseas study and exchange at world-renowned universities, covering countries such as the UK, the USA, and Australia. Through various forms such as course study, academic practice, and professional visits, the university systematically enhanced students’ international vision, cross-cultural communication skills, and professional literacy. Simultaneously, relying on the Earth Charter Young Leaders project and the sustainable development curriculum system, the university continued to deepen the construction of practical platforms for students to participate in global governance and sustainable development issues, actively promoting deep interaction between young students and international organizations, universities, and expert networks. These measures have effectively broadened student exchange channels and strengthened practical support for international talent cultivation.
Highlight 10: Continued Promotion of International Student Exchange, Further Highlighting LNU’s Role in Cultural Exchange
In July and September 2025, LNU successfully held the “Chinese Dream, LNU Affection” — 2025 “Chinese Bridge” Summer Camp. Nearly 40 students from the Confucius Institute at Irkutsk State University (Russia) and the Confucius Institute at the University of Dakar (Senegal) engaged in a 14-day study and exchange program in Beijing and Shenyang. Through language learning, cultural experiences, and field visits, the activity deepened international youths’ understanding of China’s development path and Chinese culture, showcasing LNU’s active responsibility in serving national people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.
