Trent University Signs Agreement with Nanjing University in China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Trent delegation visits Nanjing University in Jiangsu Province to sign a collaboration agreement in environmental sciences     

Thursday, October 25, 2012, Peterborough

A Trent University delegation in China, led by Dr. Neil Emery, vice-president of research & international, signed a collaboration agreement with Nanjing University, one of China’s most prestigious universities, on Monday, October 22, 2012.

The agreement is primarily focused in environmental sciences education and research, and brings together one of China’s top universities in this area with Trent University, which is among the top universities in North America for environmental sciences research and education.

“Trent University is honoured to enter into this agreement with such a prestigious institution as Nanjing University,” said Dr. Steven E. Franklin, president and vice-chancellor. “This initiative is in harmony with Trent's Academic Plan and Strategic Mandate Agreement, as a significant international partnership in our signature area of Sustainability and the Environment. Dr. Douglas Evans, professor in Environmental and Resource Studies, is congratulated for his initiative in engaging international graduate students, post-doctoral students and colleagues around the world.”
  
The agreement sets the stage for the eventual establishment of a Nanjing-Trent Institute for the Environment, with the goal of implementing a world-class centre for student education, environmental research, and for industry and government partners seeking innovative solutions to global environmental challenges.

Nanjing University’s School of the Environment is one of the university’s most dynamic and innovative academic units. Its interdisciplinary curriculum distinguishes it in China, and makes a partnership with Trent’s Environmental Sciences and Sustainability programs a natural fit. Likewise, Trent research faculty, recognized as leaders in their fields are well-positioned to collaboratively engage counterparts in Nanjing.

Trent University distinguished alumnus, Mr. Justin Chiu ‘76, has long recognized the need for environmental problem-solving in China. His ancestral links to the Nanjing area and his respect for his alma mater’s excellence in environmental science resulted in his making a leading gift to encourage the development of this relationship, and to seed the development of an institute that will benefit both Nanjing, Trent, and other universities, as well as scientists, government and industry partners around the world. Mr. Chiu was able to join the Trent delegation in Nanjing for the MOU signing ceremony.

A cornerstone of the Trent-Nanjing alliance will be research projects conducted at the renowned Trent Water Quality Centre. “Trent University is pleased to provide its water quality expertise and laboratory facilities to build a globally significant partnership with Nanjing University. We are extremely pleased that Nanjing University has entered into a broad agreement with Trent, an agreement which will include the exchange of student and faculty researchers, and co-ordination of an international environmental sciences symposium, which will alternate annually between Nanjing and Peterborough,” said Dr. Neil Emery, vice-president, research & international.

About the Water Quality Centre at Trent University
Dedicated to the development and application of innovative new techniques for the analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants at the isotopic, elemental and molecular scale, the Trent University Water Quality Centre is a multidisciplinary facility that utilizes state-of-the-art instrumentation. The focus of the Centre is the determination of trace quantities of inorganic and organic substances in aquatic environments. Trent University has been a leader in the environment since its inception in 1964. In the field of Aquatic Science, the University is home to many leading scholars and researchers as well as the Institute for Watershed Science, leading and encouraging the development of integrated scientific analysis and understanding of ecological processes within watersheds. One of Canada’s top universities, Trent University is renowned for encouraging the dynamic interplay of research, teaching and learning, which enhance and energize each other in the classroom and beyond. The University is consistently recognized internationally for faculty who maintain a high level of innovative research activity and a commitment to the individual student.

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For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Steven E. Franklin, please contact: Judy Stephens, 705-748-1011, x1090 judystephens@trentu.ca