To perfect the planning and construction of technological innovation harbor of western China (hereafter referred to as technological innovation harbor) and further enrich and expand construction contents and fields through international collaboration, XJTU sent a research panel headed by vice president Zhang Hanrong to investigate related foreign universities in Italy and UK from Feb. 25 to Mar. 8, which aimed at studying on the construction of opening study town (campus) of international universities, their management experience and discussing about the inter-school cooperation.

The research panel made an investigation on Polytechnic University of Milan, which ranks No.1 among engineering universities in Italy, exchanged views with Deputy Vice-Chancellor BALDUCCI, vice president of China affairs department NOCI and heads of relevant departments in terms of working together to establish a Union College of Industrial Design. And they achieved consensus for future work. They also visited one of the Russell Group universities-University of Liverpool and talked about inter-school cooperation with executive vice president Patrick Hackett. Moreover, under the arrangement of the head of international affairs department, they had a discussion with related professors to set up an innovation graduate school in technological innovation harbor with joint efforts of XJTU, University of Liverpool and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

Besides, the research panel went to University of Cambridge and University of Oxford as well and carefully surveyed their campus environment, architecture style, management and so on. Whether their macro layouts or handling of architectural details, XJTU can draw many lessons from their experiences and characteristics for the follow-up construction of technological innovation harbor.