Sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China and the Ministry of Industry and Science of Australia, and organized by China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC), the 2015 China-Australia Young Scientist Exchange Program was officially launched in Beijing on Nov 2, 2015.

Counsellor CAI Jianing from the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology and Mr. Sean Starmer, Counsellor of Science and Innovation from the Australian Embassy in China addressed the opening ceremony. Counsellor CAI highly commended what had been achieved since the signing of China-Australia Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation. He also encouraged researchers from both countries to deepen understanding, establish friendship and promote pragmatic cooperation, thus elevating bilateral S&T cooperation to a new level. Counsellor Sean Starmer briefly reviewed the history of our bilateral S&T cooperation, appreciated the strong support for S&T exchanges from both governments, and looked into the good prospects of our bilateral S&T cooperation. 

Representatives from Department of International Cooperation, MOST, Bureau of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Bureau of International Cooperation, National Natural Science Foundation of China attended the opening ceremony and made presentations on China’s S&T policies, the ongoing management reform of R&D programs, and international S&T cooperation, especially with Australia.

China-Australia Young Scientist Exchange Program has been successfully implemented for 9 years. A total of around 180 outstanding researchers have taken part in the program. The Australian researchers mainly come from Sydney University, University of New South Wales and the University of Queensland. Their research covers biomedicine, neuroscience and computer science. After the opening ceremony, the 13 Australian researchers will spend two weeks visiting their host institutes in Nanjing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.