LONDON Sep.7 （People's Daily Online）—— The President of Imperial College London Alice Gast is leading a delegation to China to promote education, research and innovation ties. From Monday 7 September, she will be joined in China by some of the world top ten university’s most visionary scholars including immunologist Professor Maggie Dallman, data scientist Professor Yike Guo and synthetic biologist Dr Karen Polizzi.

Professor Alice Gast said: “Imperial is pleased to collaborate with China’s leading businesses and universities while educating many of the country’s finest students. We have much to learn from each other, and we can achieve a lot together.

“Imperial offers a network of world-class academics, students and partners, an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, and access to the world’s most exciting city, London. We are furthering research that adds real value to society. Our Chinese graduates leave Imperial with the skills and innovative mindset needed to thrive in a fast-changing world.

“Working with Chinese colleagues is enabling us to tackle fundamental questions and challenges. From climate change to making big data work for society, from aircraft and train efficiency to personalised healthcare. The challenges are formidable, but the potential rewards are great.”

At the World Economic Forum in Dalian on 10 September, Professor Gast will speak about how the public and private sectors can successfully collaborate to boost innovation, research and development, while colleagues working in the emerging field of synthetic biology will present their latest research findings and how they could be put to industrial benefit.

Imperial has more than 2,000 Chinese students – the largest nationality apart from Britons. Applications from Chinese students are at an all-time high.

During their trip to China, visiting Beijing, Dalian and Hong Kong, the Imperial team will meet some of the country’s brightest students who are considering applying to Imperial and taking up careers in science, technology, engineering and medicine.