From October 17^th to 19^th, a delegation headed by our Director, Prof Alberto Di Minin, and composed by Prof. Massimo Bergamasco, the Dean of the School of Engineering of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and Giada Alì, a representative of Confucius Institute in Pisa, came on a mission to Chongqing.

The purpose of the visit was the promotion and strengthening of cooperation between China and Italy, starting from the role Sant’Anna School have played in Chongqing University for almost ten years, and in line with the national framework for bilateral cooperation promoted by the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research. Thanks to a long-established collaboration, Sant’Anna School and Chongqing University can rely on frequent academic exchanges and close communication, and they are currently trying to focus specifically on Science and Technology cooperation.

On October 17^th, the Vice President of Chongqing University, Prof Meng Weidong, guided the Italian delegation to Bishan District, where they visited the Planning Exhibition Hall and Xiuhu Park. Taking part to the visit were also, from the Italian side, the Scientific Attaché of the Italian Consulate General in Chongqing, Prof Lorenzo Gonzo, and from Chongqing University the Dean of the  School of International Education, Ms Li Jing, the Head of Domestic Cooperation Office, Mr Mei Xuefeng, Director of Science and Technology Research Department, Mr Wang Kaicheng. The delegation was received by the Vice Mayor, Mr Huang Wenjie, and by the CMC Vice Director, Mr. Tian Zhong, to talk about the scope of bilateral cooperation on technology transfer. They also introduced Bishan District’s “High-Tech New Zone”, an area identified by the central government to lead China’s innovation-driven development.

In the following days, Sant’Anna delegation and Prof Gonzo also visited Liangjiang New Area, where they had a meeting with some representatives of the district’s government presenting its Industrial Innovation Park. Another visit was paid to the Chongqing University of Post and Telecommunications and its Sino-European Robotic Lab; the Chinese side presented its research on robotics to evaluate any chance of joint research projects.

Furthermore on the afternoon of October 18^th, Prof. Bergamasco delivered a keynote speech at Chongqing University to present the research activities and labs carried on at the Institute of Communication, Information and Perception Technologies of Sant’Anna School.