XAUAT News Network: On the afternoon of October 13, 2022, a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation was held through video conference between XAUAT and the University of Mostar of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Wang Shusheng, President of XAUAT, and Prof Zoran Tomić, Rector of SUM, were present and delivered a speech. Lei Peng, Vice President of XAUAT, Vice Rectors Prof. Sanja Bijakšić Ivo Čolak of SUM, and relevant staff were also at the meeting.

  President Wang pointed out in his welcoming speech that, in recent years, under the framework for cooperation between “China and Central and Eastern European” countries, the cooperation in higher education between China and Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to innovate modes, expand fields and deepen foundation. Both are moving steadily toward building a high-quality partnership in higher education. Under the cooperation platforms of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), XAUAT is willing to work with SUM to create a better future. On behalf of XAUAT, Wang sincerely thanked SUM for its quick response to the establishment of the Silk Road International Alliance of Architectural and Technological Universities (SRIAATU) and proposed future cooperation in joint cultivation of talents, students-faculty exchange and collaboration and cultural exchange, etc.

  Prof. Tomić highly praised and consented to the proposal of establishing SRIAATU. He noted that, under the context of globalization, no single university could advance without international cooperation; under the framework of the “Alliance,” the research collaboration and people-to-people exchange of the two institutions would contribute to the traditional friendship between China and Bosnia and Herzegovina. SUM is a reliable partner willing to collaborate with XAUAT to forge the “Alliance” into a highland of architectural science and technology innovation in countries along the Silk Road and an important platform for academic exchange and transformation of achievements.

  During the meeting, Wang and Tomić signed MoU for cooperation between XAUAT and SUM under the framework of the “Alliance” both are in light of mutual benefit to carry out pragmatic cooperation in the fields of talent training and research.

Located in Mostar, the University of Mostar (UM) is a public university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its history can be traced back to the Franciscan Theological Seminary, founded in 1895 and renamed "University of Mostar" in 1992. The University has 10 faculties, about 12,000 students and approximately 1,000 faculty members in the disciplines of Agriculture and Food Technology, Economics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Fine Arts, Science Education, Health Studies, Pharmaceuticals, Humanities and Social Sciences, Civil Engineering, Medicine, and Law, etc. Ranked second in the nation, UM was ranked 301st-350th in QS EECA University Rankings in 2022.