The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Northampton, Professor Nick Petford, was appointed as a visiting professor at our university. An appointment ceremony was held in the Lecture Hall No.116, East Main Building on November 1.
Appointment Ceremony
Professor Nick Petford, Doctor of Science, serves as the vice-chancellor of the University of Northampton, also as the geological researcher of Royal Society. He is also a member of Royal College of Art and a researcher at Churchill Institute, University of Cambridge.
Professor Nick Petford
President Hu Zhengrong attended the ceremony and presented the Appointment Certificate to Professor Nick Petford. Attendees also included Zhang Zhe, deputy director of the Department of International Affairs at the University of Northampton; Ren Jinzhou, Ph. D. supervisor of CUC; He Suliu, Vice Director of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication; and adjunct professor Yan Junqi. Director of Department of Personnel, Xia Dan, presided over the ceremony.
Director Xia Dan first welcomed Professor Nick Petford to join CUC as a visiting professor and then briefly introduced position of CUC, including its development history, settings of university and talent training programs. Professor Ren Jinzhou presented information about Professor Nick Petford’s academic achievements. Professor Nick Petford expressed his hope to continue promoting cooperation between two universities.
Director Xia Dan
Professor Ren Jinzhou
President Hu Zhengrong expressed sincere thanks to Professor Nick Petford for his joint as a visiting professor on behalf of the teachers and students. Then he introduced the present development status in China to Professor Nick Petford, pointing out that the ecology and environment construction are extremely important, while communication and media play vital roles promoting them. He hoped to make breakthroughs in the important field of research through bilateral cooperation.
President Hu Zhengrong
After the ceremony, Professor Nick Petford delivered a lecture on the theme “Natural Disasters Reports from the Perspective of Scientists” to students of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication. He cited the case of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, and combined that event with his experience of arriving at the scene in the first instance, talking about the methods they applied and the difficulties they faced when journalists were reporting the similar events of natural disasters. Students exchanged their ideas through in-depth discussion with Professor Nick Petford.
It is important to cultivate a first-class teacher team in order to promote the emergence of world-class university with world-class discipline. In recent years, mechanisms like "Senior Professor", "Poplar Scholar" and "Dual-Employed Academician", "Lecture teaching" and "Visiting Professor" are established. Its aim is to further strengthen the training and introduction of discipline leaders who are active in the international academic fields, to meet the major strategic needs of our country, to support high-level talents, and to help the university become a “Double First-rate” and a “World Renowned High Level Communication University”.
Reviser: Wu Jingye, Husrav
Editor: Cao Wanchen
