On the afternoon of March 14, 2023, our university held a virtual meeting with a delegation from Montanuniversitaet Leoben (MUL), Austria. Academician Ge Shirong, President of CUMTB, and Professor Peter Moser, Vice President in charge of International Cooperation at MUL, had an in-depth discussion on advancing further collaboration between the two universities and reached a consensus.

At the meeting, Ge Shirong expressed high praise for the long-term achievements of collaboration between the two universities. He outlined the strategic needs of establishing a new energy system in the context of national strategies and the clean and efficient utilization of coal. Three directions for deepening cooperation were proposed, including collaboration in university-enterprise partnerships, establishing joint research platforms, and jointly cultivating talents with dual degrees.

Peter Moser responded enthusiastically to the proposals, addressing each one individually. He expressed that the two universities have established deep friendship and full trust based on long-term cooperation. Further deepening research and talent development cooperation in the clean and efficient use of energy aligns with the development needs of both universities. MUL will fully cooperate to solidly implement the new collaborative ideas.

Yang Ying, Director of International Cooperation and Exchange Office, reported on the various student exchange programs between the two universities since 2013.

Zhou Hongwei, Dean of School of Energy and Mining at our university, Professor Michael Tost, Ms. Birgit Knoll, and Professor Shengli Jin, from the Department of Mineral Resources Engineering at MUL, along with representatives from the international offices of both universities, attended the meeting.

Montanuniversitaet Leoben (MUL) in Austria has a long history, dating back to the "Steiermärkisch-Ständische Montanlehranstalt" (Styrian Corporate School of Mining) established by Archduke John in 1840. The two universities formally signed a cooperation intention agreement in 2013 and, under the witness of Du Yubo, former Deputy Minister of Education in China, and Reinhold Mitterlehner, former Vice Chancellor and Minister of Science and Economy in Austria, signed the AMRD program cooperation agreement in 2014. Over the past decade, our university has sent a total of 74 exchange students of various types and hosted 7 students under the program.