On March 16th, a delegation of seven people led by Mr. Jean-Michel Nicolle, President of the EPF Graduate School of Engineering in France(hereinafter referred to as “EPF”), visited Sichuan Tourism University (hereinafter referred to as “SCTU”) to attend the launch ceremony of the Building Electricity and Intelligence undergraduate education program. This program is a joint educational project between SCTU and EPF. The ceremony also included the unveiling of SCTU’s International Education School.

Accompanying Mr. Nicolle were Guillaume Delvallée, Consul General of the Consulate General of France in Chengdu; Mr.Frédéric Bessat, Commissioner of Science, Technology and Education Cooperation; Mr.Pierre-Olivier Camaret, Director of the Chengdu Center of the French Higher Education Bureau; Ms. Bi Lingyi, Officer of French Language Exams and Alumni Projects of the French Higher Education Bureau; Ms. Florence Schmolke, Director of the Chengdu French Alliance; Mr. Jiang Zhidong, the Director of the French Language Center as well as the International Office of EPF; Professor Dana Oprisan, the Head of the Green Building and Sustainable Engineering Department; Professor Wang Xixi, the Director of Teaching at the EPF Troyes Campus; Mr. Tan Jun, the Level I Division Rank Official of the International Cooperation and Exchange Department of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education; and Mr. Li Qiao, the Project Officer of the International Cooperation and Exchange Department of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education; President Lu Yi and Vice President Chen Yunchuan of Sichuan Tourism University warmly welcomed all the guests.

The project launching ceremony was held in the first standard conference room of the university’s exhibition center, presided over by Chen Yunchuan.

President Lu Yi congratulated our school on receiving approval from the Chinese Ministry of Education to collaborate with EPF to launch an undergraduate education program in Building Electricity and Intelligence. He said that the launch of this Chinese-Foreign cooperative education program marks a new stage in our university’s internationalization. Through this cooperation, both universities will continue to integrate high-quality educational resources, comprehensively enhance the school’s teaching level, and build a strong team of application-oriented teachers to cultivate more outstanding application-oriented talents with innovative spirit, international vision, and competitiveness for social development.

Jean-Michel Nicolle expressed his gratitude for the support from the Chinese Ministry of Education and the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, and congratulated the establishment of the International Education School of Sichuan Tourism University and the launch of the Sino-French cooperative education project. He hopes that the cooperation in education can be a starting point for both parties to gradually realize complementary advantages, deep cooperation, and common development in academic exchanges, teacher exchanges, talent cultivation, and other aspects. In the future, both universities will continue to exert their respective advantages to explore international education and cooperation, and are looking forward to cultivating more elite engineers for society.

Guillaume Delvallée expressed his pleasure in witnessing the launch ceremony of the Sino-French cooperative education program at Sichuan Tourism University. He hopes that through this program, the pragmatic cooperation between China and France in fields such as science, technology, and education can be further deepened and promoted, and the level of internationalization in education can be improved.

The unveiling ceremony was then held, marking the official launch of our university’s first Chinese-Foreign cooperative education project, the third Sino-French cooperative education project in Sichuan Province, the first undergraduate Sino-foreign cooperative education project in the Southwest region to introduce world-class engineering education resources in cooperation with French elite engineering universities, and the third Sino-foreign cooperative education project in the field of Building Electricity and Intelligence. It is of positive significance in promoting international exchanges and cooperation between our school and French universities, and improving the quality and level of education for both sides. In the future, the project will provide students with an international platform for communication and exchange, bring them a brand-new learning experience through an international curriculum and teaching system, and provide them with broader development space, fostering Building Electricity and Intelligence professionals with international vision, high quality, and comprehensive abilities. At the same time, the establishment of the International Education School at Sichuan Tourism University marks a new journey for our university's international education.

During the visit, Jean-Michel Nicolle and Dana Oprisan gave two lectures on the topics of “French and European Engineering Education Accreditation Systems” and “Green Building in the Context of Global Sustainable Development” for our faculty and students. The lectures introduced the French engineering education accreditation CTI, the European engineering education accreditation EUR-ACE, as well as the standards and advanced technologies in green buildings, intelligent buildings, and energy conservation and environmental protection in France and the European Union.

In addition, Jean-Michel Nicolle visited Cooking and Food Experimental Management Center and the university’s Hstory Museum. Under the guidance of the teacher Mr.Zhan Songcheng, he learned how to make classic Sichuan dishes such as Gongbao Diced Chicken and Sweet and Sour Shrimp Balls. He highly praised and affirmed the campus environment and teaching facilities of our school, and expressed a new understanding of Chinese culinary traditions and Sichuan cuisine culture. He hoped that this Sino-foreign cooperative education project could deepen the friendship between the two universities and further strengthen the exchange of culinary cultures between the two countries.