ITU Hosted Students and Academics from China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) welcomed 84 students and faculty members from Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), one of China’s long established technical institutions. The visit provided an opportunity to evaluate avenues for academic collaboration between the two universities.

Held on 6 February 2026 within the framework of the longstanding academic relations between ITU and Chinese universities, the program was coordinated by Prof. Dr. Alim Rüstem Aslan. Throughout the program, visiting students had the chance to explore Istanbul and observe ITU’s academic and research activities on site, particularly at the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal emphasized that the meetings held during the visit reflect an approach that goes beyond academic exchanges alone, focusing instead on a long‑term ecosystem built on joint laboratories, research projects, and co‑production. He recalled concrete examples of such collaborations, including the joint laboratories established with Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing Tech University, and Shanghai Maritime University. Prof. Dr. Mandal noted that ITU and Northwestern Polytechnical University share similar approaches to technical education, further strengthening the academic foundation between the two institutions.

Within the scope of the visit, potential areas of cooperation—such as student exchange programs beginning at the undergraduate level, joint degree initiatives, and next‑generation laboratory projects—were also discussed.

The visit is expected to reinforce the “co‑learning, co‑development, and co‑creation” approach that underpins ITU’s collaborations with Chinese universities and to lay the groundwork for concrete partnerships to be implemented in the future.