In order to further deepen international cooperation and exchange, enhance the internationalization level of Nursing and other majors of Xi’an Medical University, and promote inter-provincial friendship between Shaanxi Province and Antwerp Province, Belgium, Vice President Li Xueping led a delegation of the School of Nursing and Rehabilitation and the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange to visit ThomasMore University of Applied Sciences and AZT Hospital in Ternhot, Belgium, from December 9^thto 13^th. They signed agreements, negotiated cooperation projects, made a return visit to ThomasMore University student, and held discussion meetings with relevant leaders.

ThomasMore University President Stijn Coenen warmly welcomed Li Xueping and the delegation. He stated that as the largest applied technology university in this region, ThomasMore has always been committed to educational cooperation and exchange with universities within the European Union and around the world. The cooperation and exchange between the two universities have yielded rich results, and we hope that both sides can explore deeper and broader cooperation projects based on the EU Erasmus+ framework.

Li Xueping thanked President Coenen for his warm reception. She said that through the joint efforts of the two sides over the past six years, agreements, projects, mutual visits, academic exchanges and other achievements have been made. She believed that after this visit, the two universities will develop short-term exchange programs for teachers and students on the basis of the second round of cooperation framework, and explore medium and long-term exchange and visit models, being firm partners and jointly responding to the call of General Secretary Xi Jinping to become "Bridge Builders" between the two provinces, two countries, and between China and Europe.

Both leaders signed an cooperation agreement after the meeting. The Director of the International Department of ThomasMore, Inge Vervoort, and the Foreign Affairs Commissioner of the Antwerp Provincial Government, Alice Cooman, participated in the meeting and related discussions.

During visiting the Nursing College, the Dean Sofie Peeters congratulated both parties on the joint application and the approval of the EU Erasmus+ Teachers and Students Programs, and hopes that both parties will continue to fully discuss and carefully design student exchange projects around lifting students’ practical application abilities, working competence, industry leadership abilities, and etc, and strive to make a start in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Li Xueping and her delegation also conducted researches on the teaching and practical training venues of the college, had discussions with first-year nursing students, and made a return visit to student Yara Geudens who visited Xi’an Medical University this spring. The relevant discussions and follow-up activities will effectively contribute to the project design and indicator development of communication projects in the later stage.

At AZT Hospital, the largest public hospital in Turnhut City, Li Xueping and her delegation had a discussion and exchange with Senior Manager of the Nursing Department, Gert Andreassen, and others. Andreassen gave a detailed explanation of the construction of the Belgian healthcare system, reported on the important work undertaken by the hospital in the regional healthcare, introduced the hospital’s medium and long-term development plan, and introduced the “warm health care” concept of treating patients as “guests” in the hospital. During the visit to the relevant clinical departments, under the guidance of outstanding graduates from ThomasMore University, the delegation learned about the students’ practical experience, internships, and employment in the hospital, and the hospital’s advanced nursing work and management concepts.

This visit has continued the international cooperation and friendship between us and our friendly university, further established the cooperation relationship, and enhanced the confidence of both sides to deepen cooperation through deepening mutual understanding. In the future, the two universities will further promote various international cooperation and exchanges, promote the international training of medical personnel, and contribute to the friendship between Shaanxi Province and Antwerp Province.