From September 8 to 11, a five-member delegation led by Graziano Leoni, Rector of the University of Camerino, Italy, visited Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (ZZULI). Zhang Zhijian, Secretary of the Party Committee of ZZULI, and Zhang Cheng, Vice President of ZZULI, met with the delegation and held a series of talks and exchanges on the preparatory work for the ZZULI-UNICAM Joint Academy of Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (hereinafter referred to as the "ZZULI-UNICAM Joint Academy"), jointly charting a new blueprint for China-Italy cooperation in higher education.

Zhang Zhijian extended a sincere welcome to Rector Graziano Leoni and his delegation. He noted that for over a decade, the two universities, starting with the cooperative education program in Food Science and Engineering, have made solid progress in joint curriculum development, faculty exchanges, student mobility, and academic seminars. Through sustained efforts, they have achieved successful transformation and upgrade from program-based collaboration to the formal establishment of an institution. The successful approval of the ZZULI-UNICAM Joint Academy marks a landmark achievement in the history of cooperation between the two universities. He expressed hope that both sides would work together with concerted efforts to build the ZZULI-UNICAM Joint Academy into a hub for international talent cultivation, a platform for collaborative sci-tech innovation, a bridge for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Italy, and a benchmark for Chinese-foreign cooperative education, jointly writing a new chapter in China-Italy educational cooperation and mutual learning among civilizations.

During the delegation's visit to ZZULI, the two sides held a special meeting on the preparatory work for the inauguration of the ZZULI-UNICAM Joint Academy. They had in-depth exchanges on key matters such as the preparation for student recruitment, major development, faculty staffing, teaching operations, quality assurance, and scientific research collaboration, detailing various tasks and building broad consensus to lay a solid foundation for the ZZULI-UNICAM Joint Academy's smooth opening in the fall of 2027.

The delegation members also met with the 2026 cohort of students majoring in Food Science and Engineering and had cordial exchanges with them. They visited the University History Museum, toured the laboratories of the College of Food and Bioengineering and the College of Material and Chemical Engineering, and inspected the development of ZZULI's teaching facilities and scientific research platforms. The delegation spoke highly of ZZULI's school-running strengths and educational environment.