The 2010 China-New Zealand Scientist Exchange Program, sponsored by MOST and the New Zealand Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST), was launched in Beijing recently.

Five New Zealand Scientists were selected from the University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, University of Canberra, and AgResearch Ltd. of New Zealand. They would visit 10 host universities and institutes in China, including Tsinghua University, China Agricultural University, Zhejiang University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Program was carried out according to the Agreement on Initiating China-New Zealand Scientist Exchange Program between MOST and MoRST signed by MOST Vice Minister CAO Jianlin and MoRST Chief Executive Helen Anderson in February of 2009. As per the Agreement, five outstanding young and middle-aged scientists are selected from both sides to visit each other’s research institutes for four to six weeks. This Program aims at facilitating scholarly exchanges between China and New Zealand and laying a solid foundation for long-term bilateral cooperation in science and technology.