Yale president lauds ties with Peking University

Chinese medical students get opportunity for clinical training at Ivy League school

The president of the prestigious Yale University in the United States has led a delegation to visit Peking University where he gave a speech to students on Monday.

The move was part of a bid to further the close collaboration between the two institutions.

Professor Peter Salovey said Yale signed a memorandum of understanding with its famous old Chinese counterpart that will allow medical students from Peking University to participate in clinical training at Yale.

Salovey said during his speech that Yale was proud to have signed the agreement.

Lin Jianhua, president of Peking University, said the arrival of the delegation from Yale was the highlight of the ongoing Peking University-Yale University Exchange Week, which kicked off on March 14.

The exchange week included performances by a singing group of Yale students, academic exchanges in psychology and medicine, and in-depth discussions about future collaborations.

"We are confident that this and future PKU-Yale Exchange Weeks will bring our two universities even closer together by expanding our academic and research cooperation and by encouraging cultural exchanges," Lin said.

In recent years, top Chinese universities have worked closely with prestigious universities in the US on such things as disciplinary building, teaching, scientific research, and exchanges of students and culture.

Lin said collaboration between the two universities started in 1984 and has covered many fields during the past three decades. Each year, undergraduate students from both universities attend summer schools at the other university. Collaboration has included the exchange of doctoral candidates in the field of history, and joint research in Chinese law and policy.

Salovey, a renowned professor and scholar in psychology, delivered a speech to students on the theme of "Emotional Intelligence: is there anything to it?" In the speech, he elaborated on how emotional intelligence, a theory he and others described in 1990, has acted as a source of information and enriched people's lives.

After the speech, Salovey answered questions from three Peking University students and said he was glad to see that the theory of Emotional Intelligence was well-received among Chinese scholars.

Salovey got his PhD in psychology from Yale University in 1986 and has been working at the university on academic and administrative affairs since then.

zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn

Peter Salovey, president of Yale University, delivers a speech at Peking University in Beijing on Monday. Li Xianghua / for China Daily