Palmerston North Institute of Xi'an University Holds the Opening Ceremony for the Inaugural 2026 Cohort
On the morning of September 16, the opening ceremony for the inaugural 2026 cohort of the Palmerston North Institute of Xi'an University (PNI(XAU)) was held at the Lecture Hall, Block A, Mingde Building. As the university's first officially approved Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, the ceremony marks a new stage of standardized, high-quality development for the university's Sino-foreign cooperative education endeavors.
Guo Zhengqiang, Second-level Inspector of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, and Wei Dengfeng, Director of the Division of External Cooperation and Exchanges of the Xi'an Municipal Education Bureau, attended the ceremony, together with Mr. Dean Rankin, Executive Director of Universal College of Learning (UCOL), New Zealand, and Ms. Paula Richardson, Academic Registrar of UCOL, as well as representatives of leading enterprises in the sector, including iFLYTEK, Dawning Information Industry (Sugon), BONC, Merrill Data, GrapeCity and Kaiyuan Data. President Liu Bo, together with heads of relevant functional departments and second-level colleges, all 2026 freshmen and parent representatives, witnessed this milestone in the Institute's development. The ceremony was presided over by Vice President Liu Mingli.
The opening ceremony for the inaugural 2026 cohort of the Palmerston North Institute of Xi'an University
In his welcome address, President Liu Bo comprehensively reviewed the entire process of establishing PNI(XAU). He pointed out that the Institute is a core strategic platform for the university to deepen opening-up in education, strengthen Sino-foreign cooperative education and empower regional industrial upgrading, and that it carries the important mission of high-quality international education. He noted that the Institute's inaugural 2026 enrollment was sufficient and stable, fully reflecting the recognition and trust of society at large, parents and prospective students. He emphasized that students of PNI(XAU) should take the initiative to embrace diverse cultures, explore the unknown and enrich their growth experience, striving to grow into internationally competent, interdisciplinary and application-oriented talents who combine patriotic conviction with a global vision, and professional expertise with innovative capability.
Guo Zhengqiang, Second-level Inspector of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, expressed support for the Institute's development from the perspectives of industry-education integration and government guidance. He noted that the Department has long focused on the coordinated cultivation of talent through industry-education integration, and, taking the initiative of "one industrial chain, one research institute, one university, one enterprise, one industry association and one dedicated training program" as a lever, continues to improve long-term mechanisms connecting technology, talent, enterprises and capital for key industrial chains—providing a valuable implementation path for the university's future school-enterprise, industry-education-integrated and collaborative talent cultivation.
Dr. Ron Xavier, Regional Director (Greater China) of Education New Zealand and Education Counsellor at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, and Ms. Jasmine Groves, Chief Executive of Universal College of Learning (UCOL), delivered video addresses in turn. They warmly congratulated PNI(XAU) on its successful opening and on the smooth enrollment of its first freshmen, and spoke highly of the far-reaching significance and exemplary value of cooperation between the two institutions.
The Institute signed school-enterprise collaborative education agreements with six leading enterprises, including iFLYTEK
At the ceremony, the Institute signed school-enterprise collaborative education agreements with six leading enterprises, including iFLYTEK. Letters of appointment were presented to ten industry professors and twelve enterprise mentors. Going forward, the partner enterprises will be deeply integrated into the entire talent cultivation process; industry professors and enterprise mentors will enter classrooms on a regular basis, jointly build internship, practical-training and project-based teaching bases, and forge an integrated education chain linking "classroom learning – project-based training – job placement."
Letters of appointment presented to industry professors and enterprise mentors
At the event, representatives of industry professors, freshmen, parents of freshmen and teachers delivered speeches in turn. From the perspectives of industry empowerment, teachers' responsibility, home-school cooperation and youth aspiration, they shared their recognition of and confidence in the Institute's internationalized, industry-education-integrated talent cultivation model, and expressed their aspiration to jointly build a high-level Sino-foreign cooperative institution and support students' growth and success.
The successful holding of this opening ceremony opens a new chapter in the university's Sino-New Zealand cooperation and internationalized talent cultivation.
Looking ahead, PNI(XAU) will be grounded in the development needs of Xi'an's regional digital-economy industry, continuing to empower and contribute to the high-quality development of the regional digital economy and to educational exchanges and cooperation between China and New Zealand.
Source | Palmerston North Institute of Xi'an University
Writer | Yang Jingya
Photos | Huang Tao, Wei Yumeng
Editor | Du Lerong
Proofread by | Zheng Jie
First review | Wang Li
Final review | Tian Jianbang, Yu Hua, Bian Peiying
