On April 6, Ann Derwin, Irish Ambassador to China, and Wendy Dorman-Smith, Irish Consul General in Shanghai visited Yangzhou University. Jiao Xin'an, President of YZU met with the guests, expressing hope of strengthening partnerships and collaborations between Yangzhou University and Irish universities.

Jiao introduced YZU’s history and its peculiarities of disciplines to the guests. He hoped that substantive cooperative strategies are more likely to be pursued by Yangzhou University and Irish universities in the field of veterinary medicine, agricultural science, food engineering and nutrition. Both sides would build joint laboratories, hold online and offline international academic conferences, and jointly apply for international cooperative scientific research projects. Jiao also invited Irish enterprises and universities to give visitors exposure to Irish scientific and technological innovations in the science park of YZU.

Yangzhou University, Jiao said, are committed to deepening its partnerships with pre-eminent international universities, and increasing mobility and inter-cultural support for our staff and students to raise their international profile and expand research networks.

Ann Derwin said this is her first visit to a Chinese university since she became Irish Ambassador to China. She spoke positively of the current collaboration in higher education between Ireland and China, and introduced the advantages of higher education in Ireland.

In the afternoon of April 6, the Sino-Irish seminar on agri-tech and animal sciences was held at YZU. Organized by YZU, the seminar aims to bring together experts, scholars and administrators in the field of agri-tech and animal sciences to discuss issues and trends related to eco-envirmment, agribusiness, prevention and control of important poultry diseases in Ireland and in China. Liu Qiaoquan, vice president of YZU thanked Ambassador Ann Derwin for contributing to pushing forward the development of partnership between Irish universities and Yangzhou University in his opening remarks. Ambassador Ann Derwin made a speech titled “The Agri-Food Research & Eco-environment in Ireland”. Simon Hao, senior market advisor, Enterprise Ireland, gave a presentation on leading agribusiness solutions from Ireland. Professor Zhou Guisheng and Professor Qian Kun from YZU respectively gave reports on the agricultural research and the prevention and control of important poultry diseases and zoonoses at YZU.

In the past few years, 13 undergraduates from YZU joined the “3+1+1” program in UCD(University College Dublin).