On 25 March 2025, Professor Mike Raco, Director of the Bartlett School of Planning (BSP) at University College London (UCL), and Professor Lauren Andres, Director of Research, visited SASS and held a signing ceremony with the Institute of Urban and Demographic Studies. Professor Gan Chunhui, Executive Vice President of SASS, attended the event and witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Professor Gan welcomed the delegation and provided an overview of SASS, emphasizing the shared status of Shanghai and London as globally influential cities with significant potential for comparative research. He highlighted SASS’s commitment to academic exchanges with UCL and expressed optimism about the collaboration’s impact on urban studies and related fields.
Professor Raco thanked SASS for the warm reception and introduced the development of UCL and BSP. He expressed hope that this visit would strengthen cooperation, facilitate joint research, and enhance dialogue between the two cities.
During the discussions, Professor Zhou Haiwang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Urban and Demographic Studies, introduced the Institute’s work, while Professor Andres outlined key aspects of the cooperation agreement. Professor Zhou and Professor Raco signed the MOU on behalf of their respective institutions, with Professor Tu Qiyu presiding over the ceremony.
