On Thursday, January 18, Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti received a visit from a delegation from Tsinghua University in Beijing at Palazzo Civico. The meeting was also attended by the Director General of SUPSI Franco Gervasoni who was able to present the cantonal university system, the organizational structure of SUPSI and the possibilities of academic staff exchange between Switzerland and China for the occasion.

Also among the guests was Professor Claudio Boër former Vice President of the SUPSI Council, who has a special relationship with the Beijing Academic Institute, now led by President Prof.Li Luming,. 

Indeed, Boër recalled, "the first time I went to China, back in 1991, was to Tsinghua University. I was part of a delegation of four other European colleagues who came to China for a project that was supposed to last four years but then took eight. The program had been set up at the initiative of the European Commission to establish collaborations with the Chinese university of excellence, namely Tsinghua University in the area of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). In 1999 the program closed, but my professional engagement with China continued first as a member of the Commission for Technology and Innovation (now Innosuisse) and then with the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation as Swiss Consul in Shanghai."

Since then, relations between SUPSI and Tsinghua University have been strengthened, for example, with collaborations initiated with TICD - Tsinghua Institute Center in Dongguan in Guangdong Province. TICD applied for and obtained Boër's appointment as a Silver Age Talent for the period January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2022. Seminars, forums and exchanges between Ticino and Chinese companies were organized during this period.

Boër then presented the MSE-China module which aroused great interest from President  Li Luming who asked if it would be possible to meet the group of Swiss students and professors during the visit to be organized in 2024.

Tsinghua University consists of 59 faculties with a total of 59,270 students registered in the academic year 2022/2023.