[Photo provided to China Daily]

Senior executives from the University of Leeds visited several elite universities in Shanghai and its neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces seeking more extensive cooperation.

"Hangzhou and Leeds have been sister cities for 30 years, so what we'll try to do is to make sure that we translate some of the world-leading research into products, and the two universities in joint forces make the greatest effort to have impact on the two cities in different aspects, such as coping with public issues of pollution, health and energy shortage," says Yu Hai-sui, pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds during his visit to Shanghai on Feb 27.

Yu says both the University of Leeds and Hangzhou-based Zhejiang University have been part of the Worldwide Universities Network for years and through the network, they've worked with each other in research and student exchange.

"But now we'd like to develop that further. We want to develop a joint center of research and innovation based in Zhejiang University," Yu says.

Yu Hai-sui [Photo provided to China Daily]

Roger Marsh, chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, says the importance of collaboration lies not only in academics but also in translating it into enhancing economic outcomes for both parties.

"As we transform our rail systems in the United Kingdom in the years ahead, all the parties from around the world can work on the projects and the academic collaboration can also enjoy the benefit," he says.

Frank Finlay, executive dean of faculty of arts at the University of Leeds, says the joint school with Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was established in 2015 just because both universities found each other a good match in research expertise around high-speed train technology.