On December 16th, Professor Wu Zhishen, the president, and Professor Giuseppe Carlo Marano from Politecnico di Torino in Italy jointly presented the admission letter to Du Xiaotong, the first doctoral student admitted to the Sino-foreign dual-mentor doctoral dual-degree program jointly carried out by the two universities. This marks the official transition of the joint doctoral training mechanism between the two universities from "agreement signing" to "implementation", opening a new chapter in the joint training of doctoral students. The heads of the International Exchange and Cooperation Office, the Personnel Office, the School of Civil Engineering (School of Architecture), and other departments and units participated and witnessed together.
Group photo as a memento
This project is a phased achievement of academic exchanges and cooperation between the two schools, which was personally coordinated and continuously promoted by President Wu Zhishen. Last November, President Wu Zhishen led a delegation to visit Politecnico di Torino in Italy, and both sides signed a memorandum of cooperation. In July 2025, both sides reached an agreement on the joint cultivation of high-level talents and officially signed the "AGREEMENT FOR DUOUBLE PhD PROGRAM between Politecnico di Torino, Italy and Henan University of Technology, China". The agreement clearly states that all doctoral students admitted to our university are eligible to apply for the dual degree program of the two universities, opening up a stable, standardized and sustainable international training channel for doctoral students from different disciplines and research directions of our university.
According to the project arrangement, the selected doctoral students will be jointly guided by doctoral supervisors from both universities, achieving in-depth collaboration in aspects such as the training program, scientific research training, and academic output. Doctoral students must conduct no less than 18 months of study and research exchanges at the partner university. After meeting the degree awarding requirements of both universities and passing the review and defense of both sides, they can be awarded doctoral degrees by Henan University of Technology and Politecnico di Torino respectively. The project demonstrates sincerity in cooperation in terms of the training mechanism and cost-sharing: students, in principle, only need to pay tuition fees from their home schools. During their studies at the partner school, tuition fees are waived in accordance with the agreement, effectively lowering the economic threshold for international joint training and enhancing the accessibility and sense of gain for doctoral students to participate.
The admission of the first doctoral student not only marks a breakthrough from zero to one for the dual doctoral degree programs of the two universities, but also lays a demonstration foundation for subsequent large-scale training. Looking to the future, both sides will build a multi-level talent team centered on "jointly cultivating doctoral students", with postdoctoral researchers, visiting scholars, and senior research scholars working in coordination and complementing each other's functions. Together, they will promote the cultivation of innovative talents and high-level scientific research output, establish an international cooperation platform for co-construction, co-creation, and sharing, facilitate regular international exchanges, and contribute to the connotation construction and high-quality development of the university's disciplines.
Politecnico di Torino is a top European and world-renowned university in science and engineering. It has outstanding strength in the field of engineering and technology. In the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject, it ranked 33rd globally in related fields. Its research and innovation capabilities and academic influence continue to lead the world. The university encourages and supports doctoral students from all colleges and majors to seize the opportunity, actively apply for the dual doctoral degree program between Henan University of Technology and Politecnico di Torino, proactively connect with world-class academic resources, and broaden their academic horizons, enhance their research capabilities, and produce high-quality achievements in a higher-level open cooperation.
