An academic collaboration on doctoral level is agreed on the meeting between Prof. Xu Baojie, Vice President of BISTU, and Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin, President of Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), Ireland, on 5^th December, 2013.   

Prof. Xu Baojie extends his warmest welcome to Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin, followed by introduction to BISTU’s development after the International Forum in May 2013 on which Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin delivered an impressive keynote speech. Prof. Xu Baojie also highlights the North China Robot Contest hosted by BISTU and new campus construction. He stresses that this visit opens an excellent opportunity for BISTU and AIT to work together on joint doctoral programmes, which is the dawn of further cooperation between both institutions. He recommends Software Engineering as the pilot programme, considering that both institutions are strong in this area.  

Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin speaks highly of the May International Forum. He believes it is a very successful, fruitful one which offers a wonder platform for AIT to communicate with BISTU and other international institutes. He talks about the progress that AIT has made in recent six months with the focus on research achievements, such as cloud computing. Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin agrees that cooperation on doctoral level shall be the focus of current stage.  

Both institutions agree to jointly supervise doctoral students, with one supervisor from each institution. Distance supervision and learning can also be explored considering the developed modern communication technology. Further details will be discussed on a later stage.  

Also present at the meeting and the discussion are staff members from AIT, BISTU School of Computer Science, BISTU Postgraduate School, and BISTU Department of International Cooperation.