On the afternoon of 23 March,Prof.Salvatore Bitoni, the President and Prof. PaoloSerrau, the Vice President of Academia di belle arti di Torino visited the International College of Xiamen University. The two parties discussed the possible Sino-Italian co-operations in art talent cultivation and art research, especially the 2+2 undergraduate programmesand master’sprogrammes in art and related majors.

Prof. Zheng Tongtao, the Dean, and Ms. Huang Guanhua, the Deputy Dean of the International Collegewarmly received the guests and the conference was held at Room B509 of Kunluan Building. Other participants included the directors of the Project Department, the Art Teaching and Research Group, and the Admission Office. After a warm welcome, Dean Zheng briefly introduced the recent development of our college and ourart programmes to the guests.

Prof. Bitoniand Prof. Serraulistened attentively to Dean Zheng’s introduction. Prof. Bitonisaid thatunder the background of ever-increasing Sino-Italian cultural exchanges, the Academy seeks to establish good cooperation with prestigious Chinese universities like Xiamen University and to promote more teaching and cultural innovative activities in China. The guests looked closely at the portfolios of our students and asked about the curriculaof our art programmesand the students’ specialty choices.

After the conference, group photos were taken to mark the occasion, andDean Zheng showed the guests around the teaching buildingand introduced the teaching facilitiesof our college.

Founded in 1833, Academia di belle arti di Torino is ranked the 3rdand considered one of the oldest academies of fine artsin Italy.It has been certified by the Ministry of Education of China. Located in Turin, the capital of the Piedmont region and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, it has a long history and its gallery has collectedmany treasures.