This past Monday, Chinese Delegates visited the University of Central Florida to strengthen ties between Beijing Jiaotong University and UCF. UCF’s relationship with BJTU was initiated through Dr. Xuedong Yan, who is now a Dean at BJTU and who was a former PhD student in UCF’s Transportation Engineering program. He maintained his ties with his UCF adviser, Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Aty. Together, they initiated a collaboration in 2012 that resulted in an Articulation Agreement for BJTU students to transfer credit to UCF and complete the UCF MS degree in Transportation Engineering. The agreement was renewed in 2015 for 5 years. Under this agreement, UCF received 3 BJTU students (all 3 finished the MS and 2 have continued to PhD studies at UCF). This agreement served as an articulation model which other departments are seeking to emulate and created the foundation for expanded collaboration.
While on campus, an official ceremony was held to sign a General Agreement which further supports the collaborative efforts of both institutions. Multiple initiatives are being discussed (e.g., student, faculty and research exchange) which would involve additional departments from the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science, UCF Global, UCF Nicholson School of Communication and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
We are excited to announce these new partnerships and look forward to what the future brings.