From May 26 to 27, Professor Antonella Polimeni, Rector of Sapienza University of Rome (Sapienza), led a delegation to visit Zhongnan university of Economics and Law (ZUEL). During the visit, she attended the President’s Symposium, the Ceremony of Awarding Honorary Doctorate Degree, the Three-year Anniversary Activities of School of Law and Economics and other activities. The visit injected new vitality into the cooperation between the two universities.
On the morning of the 26th, a ceremony was held in the simultaneous interpretation conference room of Wenhuan Building to award Professor Antonella Polimeni an honorary doctorate. Professor Hou Zhenfa, the Secretary-General of the CPC Committee of the university, announced the Notice of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee on the Approval of Awarding Professor Antonella Polimeni an Honorary Doctorate. Professor Zhu Fangwei, the President of the university, Vice Secretary-General of the CPC Committee of the university, and Chairman of the University Academic Degrees Committee, presented Professor Polimeni with the certificate of an honorary doctorate. Professor Yang Canming, Wenlan Senior professor, delivered a recommendation speech. Professor Qin Hong, the Vice President of the university and member of the CPC Committee of the university, presided over the ceremony. Professor Giuseppe Ciccarone, Vice Rector of the Sapienza University of Rome, Professor Oliviero Diliberto, Dean of Faculty of Law of the Sapienza University of Rome, and heads of relevant functional departments and colleges attended the ceremony.
According to the recommendation letter, Prof. Polimeni is a leading scholar in the field of international medical and higher education. She has held many important positions, including the dean of the medical and dental school of Sapienza University of Rome, the coordinator of the doctoral program of skeletal and oral diseases, and the member of the university board. She has long been in charge of the cross-disciplinary advanced professional courses in law, engineering, medicine and psychology. She is the leader of Italian medical and dental academic institutions.
She has held multiple positions, including Coordinator of the Medicine Commission of the Italian University Rectors Conference, Expert of the National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutions, and has been deeply involved in higher education reform and scientific innovation throughout her career. During her tenure as Rector of the Sapienza University of Rome, she actively promoted in-depth cooperation with our university, making outstanding contributions to cultural and educational exchanges between China and Italy, as well as in the field of education technology.
“It is an honor to receive this award. This honor belongs to the cooperation team of the two universities. It is a witness of the dialogue between Chinese and Italian civilizations.” Polimeni said that the cooperation between the two universities has a long history and has received the recognition and strong support of the leaders of China and Italy and the education management departments. Now, the School of Law and Economics jointly established by the two universities has been in existence for three years. Currently, it has opened four masters programs, one undergraduate program, and has trained more than 300 graduates. In the next five years, the number of students will approach 1,000.
Qin Hong emphasized that the cooperation between the two universities is going well. With her wisdom and educational devotion, Prof. Polimeni promotes the strategic cooperation between the two universities. She is a “cultural ambassador” of the exchange between China and Italy. The university awards her with the honorary doctorate degree as a highest respect to a “family member” and “colleague”.
Prior to the ceremony, the presidents of the two universities held a talk.
Zhu Fangwei expressed his warm welcome to the visiting delegation of Sapienza University of Rome and pointed out that Sapienza’s cross-disciplinary research and talent cultivation concept is highly consistent with that of ZUEL. Since 2016, the cooperation between the two universities has gradually expanded from the field of law to the field of digital economy and artificial intelligence, becoming a benchmark for cooperation and exchange between Chinese and Italian universities. Zhu Fangwei said that this visit leading by Polimeni will promote the cooperation to go deeper and more practical, and raise the friendly relationship between the two universities to a new height. Zhu Fangwei said that in the next step, the two universities will based on the School of Law and Economics exploring new models of cooperation in the areas of discipline integration, international exchange and teaching faculty training.
Polimeni said she was honored to come to ZUEL for the second time to participate in the activities of the third anniversary of the School of Law and Economics. She pointed out that cross-disciplinary cooperation is the right direction for academic development and is also the characteristic of cross-disciplinary subjects. The cooperation agreement signed in 2024 in the field of artificial intelligence has opened up a new door for the two universities. The development of artificial intelligence needs the support of disciplines such as ethics. The integration of multiple disciplines is the direction of future development. She said that in addition to traditional disciplines such as law and economics, she expects the two universities to deepen cooperation in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, science, and biomedicine.
Liu Renshan said that the establishment of the School of Law and Economics injected new impetus into the cooperation between the two universities and the development is on the fast track. Looking forward to the future, both universities will seize the important opportunity of the friendly exchanges between China and Italy, continuously deepen the cooperation and work together.
Ciccarone thanked the warm reception of ZUEL and praised the beautiful campus environment. He hopes that both sides will achieve better results in the training of young talents. Diliberto said that returning to ZUEL is like coming back home every time. He stressed that the cooperation between the two universities is a typical example of educational exchanges between China and Italy, which has won high recognition and strong support from the governments of the two countries.
At the symposium, the presidents of both universities exchanged gifts.
On the same day, the leaders of both universities attended the celebration of the third anniversary of the School of Law and Economics and the launch ceremony of the new books of the Italian classics series and the symposium on deepening cooperation in economics. In the afternoon of the 27th, the leaders of both universities attended the second joint management committee meeting of the School of Law and Economics in 2025.
