On the afternoon of September 11, Bill Flanagan, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta (UA), led a delegation on his first official visit to CUEB. President Wu Weixing met with the delegation in Hechang Hall of Boyuan Building, accompanied by Vice President Li Kunpeng. The two sides reviewed the progress and achievements of their partnership, discussed future development plans, including collaboration in education, discipline development and research, and signed a Letter of Intent (LOI).

Extending a warm welcome to the delegation, President Wu noted that in less than a year, the two universities had worked closely and efficiently to advance their partnership. From in-depth discussions and negotiations to the approval of the undergraduate cooperative education program in Statistics, the two sides had steadily translated their shared vision for collaboration into tangible results. Their close collaboration had fostered strong mutual trust that extended beyond the formal framework of their partnership, making UA a trusted partner of CUEB. President Wu also noted that 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of CUEB. Standing at a new historical starting point, the university is planning for long-term development and stepping up efforts to advance the development of its international campus. He expressed the hope that the two universities would continue to run the cooperative education program in Statistics well, further deepen follow-up exchanges and cooperation, and contribute to higher education exchanges between China and Canada as well as the development of young personnel in both countries.

President Flanagan expressed his appreciation for CUEB’s warm hospitality and congratulated CUEB on the successful launch of the cooperative education program in Statistics and the enrollment of its first cohort of students. He noted that UA attaches great importance to its strategic partnership with CUEB and highly values the efficient and pragmatic work of the two universities’ teams. With strong academic expertise and a long-standing tradition of excellence in statistics, mathematics, and data science, UA looks forward tofully leveraging itsdisciplinary strengths, integrating them deeply with CUEB’s distinctive strengths in economics and management. He expressed the hope that the two universities would continue to improve their joint talent development programs, expand faculty and student exchanges and academic and research collaboration, and work together to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the existing program, and broaden the scope and depth of cooperation between the two universities.

After the meeting, the two sides signed the LOI, further strengthening the foundation for long-term collaboration between the two universities.

Prior to the meeting, the UA delegation visited the School History Museumto gain a first-hand understanding of the university’s 70-year history.

The UA delegation included Dr. Tian Tang, Vice-Provost (International Education and Enrollment); Dr. Declan Ali, Dean of the Faculty of Science; Dr.Christoph Frei, Chair of the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences; L.Philippe Rheault, Dean of the China Institute; and Jinjia Xu, Director of Relationship Enrollment and Programs. Representatives fromCUEB’s School of Statistics and Data Science,School of Artificial Intelligence, andthe Office of International Cooperation and Exchange also attended the meeting and signing ceremony.