On July 29th, Francisco Javier Rodríguez-Suárez, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, along with Rebecca Paez-Rodriguez, Director of International Collaboration, and Assistant Professor Zhao Wei, visited CAUP. Vice Dean Shi Xing, Professor Zong Xuan, and Executive Director of the Department of Architecture Liu Kan attended the meeting.

Both parties engaged in a thorough discussion on deepening educational cooperation and academic exchanges. During the meeting, they reached an initial intention to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aiming to further consolidate the partnership between the two universities through a formal agreement and jointly explore new models of collaborative education in architecture. Throughout the discussion, both sides emphasized the importance and potential of joint cooperation in Architecture, focusing on cultivating high-quality talents with an international perspective, innovative thinking, and practical abilities. To this end, they paid particular attention to the prospects for collaboration on joint design studio, proposing the idea of launching such courses to facilitate exchanges and visits between faculty and students from both institutions. By integrating the teaching resources and strengths of both universities, they anticipate enabling faculty and students to learn from each other and make progress together in a cross-border teaching environment in the future.

After the meeting, the delegation toured the workshop exhibition of digitalFUTURES, guided by Liu Yige. The exhibition showcased the latest research achievements and cutting-edge explorations of the college in digital technology and architectural innovation, earning high praise from the visiting guests.