Vice-Rector of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven) Prof. Filip Abraham and Dean of Faculty of Economics and Applied Economics of the university Prof. Joep Konings visited Tsinghua SEM duringApril 11-12, 2007. Associate Dean of Tsinghua SEM Prof. Chen Zhangwu and Dean Assistant Prof. Qian Xiaojun met with the visiting guests fromLeuven. The two sides held friendly talks on affairs regarding academic program development and students & faculty exchanges.

Prof. Joep Konings Dean of Faculty of Economics and Applied Economics at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven delivered a lecture to Tsinghua SEM’s Ph.D students and MBA students respectively entitled “Do Multinational Enterprises Relocate Employment to Low Wage Regions?” Interacting with Tsinghua students, the distinguished European economist introduced and explained his latest research achievement on EU MNE employment based on massive investigations over EU labour flows, employment relocation between EU-based parent companies and their affiliates, employment sector distribution, EU labour wage level etc..

Prof. Konings also introduced the academic programs atFaculty of Economics and Applied Economics at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, encouraging students to pursue further study there.

Leuvenprofessors’ visit to Tsinghua SEM was part of Tsinghua-Leuven Week, an international communication event held at Tsinghua campus during April 10-13 which aims at promoting further understanding and friendly collaboration between the two universities. Apart from Tsinghua SEM visit, Leuven delegation also participated in a variety of academic discussions with their Tsinghua counterparts in fields including Nano-science, Biomedical Sciences Architecture and Urban Planning Economics, Material Engineering and Global Governance, etc..

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is located in the town of Leuven, near to the nation’s capital Brussels. Established in 1425, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven has been a centre of learning for almost six centuries. Its academic fame has attracted numerous scholars that have made remarkable contributions to European culture. At present the University caters to more than 31,000 students, around 12% of whom are international students from more than 120 nations. The university was ranked among the top 10 universities in Europe.