Yan Jianbing, president of Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU), led a delegation to visit the UK and attended "The Plant Journal" editorial board meeting from May 12 to 16, aiming to enhance exchanges and collaborations with British universities and research institutions.

On the afternoon of May 12, Yan Jianbing and his team visited Cardiff University, where they held discussions with Professor Gavin Shaddick, Professor Alan Kwan, Professor Rachel Errington, Professor Peng Zhou, and others. Professor Gavin Shaddick, also vice-president of Cardiff, warmly welcomed the delegation and expressed eagerness to deepen cooperation with HZAU.

HZAU signs a cooperation agreement with a school of Cardiff University. [Photo/hzau.edu.cn]

During the visit, HZAU's College of Biomedicine & Health, College of Life Science & Technology, College of Engineering, and Cardiff University's School of Engineering signed a cooperation framework agreement. HZAU's College of Biomedicine & Health also signed a cooperation framework agreement with Cardiff University's School of Medicine. The two sides reached various consensuses on future collaborations.

From May 14 to 15, Yan Jianbing participated in "The Plant Journal" editorial board meeting. All board members agreed that the 2026 editorial board meeting of "The Plant Journal" will be held at HZAU, establishing a high-level platform for global exchange in plant science.

The HZAU delegation engages in discussions at the University of Birmingham. [Photo/hzau.edu.cn]

The delegation also visited the University of Birmingham and engaged in in-depth discussions with Luke Wales, head of global partnerships at the University of Birmingham, Professor Zhang Zhibing, Professor Steve Busby, Professor Daniel Gibbs, Professor Jeremy Pritchard, Professor Heather Flowe, and others. The two parties reached a consensus on renewing the undergraduate dual-degree 2+2 agreement and deepening research cooperation.