On the afternoon of September 1, 2025, the School of International Education of NCWU and Henan South-to-North Water Diversion Museum jointly held a forum on the preparatory work of the International Student Education Base. The two parties conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as construction plans for the base, resource sharing mechanisms, and cultural exchange activities, aiming to leverage the cultural connotations and educational value of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project to innovate the training models for international students, enhance their understanding of China's water conservancy culture and ecological civilization construction, and build a new platform for telling Chinese stories well and spreading Chinese voices. Representatives from NCWU, including Wei Xinqiang, Director of the International Office, and Jin Xiaoqian, Curator of Henan South-to-North Water Diversion Museum, as well as relevant staff, attended the forum.
At the forum, Jin Xiaoqian first extended a welcome to the delegation of NCWU and elaborated on the museum's resource advantages in displaying the history of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, popularizing scientific and technological achievements, and promoting ecological protection. She pointed out that the museum would be willing to cooperate with NCWU to transform project heritage into educational resources and provide a "walking classroom" for international students through the co-construction of the education base. Subsequently, Li Shengji, Dean of the School of International Education, introduced the originalintention and significance of the forum and the joint construction of the base. He emphasized that NCWU had always aimed to cultivate international talents with "a global perspective, familiarity with international rules, and dedication to serving national strategies". This cooperation with the South-to-North Water Diversion Museum would be an important initiative to promote the "collaborative education between NCWU and the museum". As a major national strategic project, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project contained rich cultural heritage, scientific and technological content, engineering culture, and ecological concepts. Once completed, the base would become an important window for international students to understand China's water control history and experience the charm of major national projects.
In the discussion session, Wei Xinqiang further noted that NCWU had profound experience in international education and had formed the brand effect of "Overseas Study at NCWU". He stressed that this cooperation would give full play to NCWU's professional advantages in water conservancy disciplines and the museum's cultural communication function. Through the dual paths of "practical teaching + cultural immersion," it would help international students experience Chinese culture in an immersive way and cultivate international talents who understand, befriend, and love China.
Finally, witnessed by representatives of both parties, Li Shengji and Jin Xiaoqian jointly signed the Base Cooperation Agreement, marking the official launch of the university-museum cooperation. The holding of this forum is an important exploration for NCWU to deepen the "university-museum cooperation" and innovate the international student training modes. Taking the base construction as an opportunity, the two parties will continuously improve the cooperation mechanism, enrich the connotation of education, and enable international students of NCWU to grow into bridges and bonds for cross-cultural communication while perceiving China's engineering miracles and cultural charm, injecting youthful vitality into building a community with a shared future for mankind.
