China University of Petroleum–Beijing (CUP) has sent the first cohort of students from its “Petroleum Engineering + Arabic” interdisciplinary talent training program to Khalifa University of Science and Technology (Khalifa University) in the United Arab Emirates for study and exchange. Five junior undergraduate students have begun their overseas studies at Khalifa University, making the program one of the first Ministry of Education-recognized, institutionalized undergraduate exchange initiatives in China. CUP said the departure of the first cohort represents a new milestone in the university’s international interdisciplinary talent training and reflects a further step forward in its global education partnerships.
The exchange program is a key outcome of cooperation between CUP and Khalifa University. The participating students were selected from CUP’s “Petroleum Engineering + Arabic” interdisciplinary training class. Compared with traditional exchange programs, CUP noted that the initiative is designed with a more structured and stable mechanism, aimed at strengthening undergraduate education pathways and cultivating graduates with stronger international competence.
A few days prior to the students’ departure, CUP held a meeting attended by representatives from the International Cooperation and Exchange Office, the Undergraduate School, the Graduate School, and the College of Petroleum Engineering. They met with the students, extended their best wishes, and expressed their support and encouragement for the upcoming exchange. CUP Vice President Zhang Guangqing met with the students and offered guidance on both academic planning and daily life overseas. He encouraged them to take advantage of overseas university–enterprise cooperation opportunities, integrate learning with practice, and pay close attention to frontier developments in areas such as energy transition and smart energy. Zhang also reminded students to comply with local laws and customs, follow emergency procedures, and ensure persona safety studying abroad.
CUP maintained close contact with the students throughout the exchange.. After the group arrived at Khalifa University, Zhang Guangqing communicated with them to learn about their living arrangements, study schedules, and daily routines, and encouraged them to strengthen language learning and cross-cultural communication skills. He gave students some guidance on adapting foreign environments: 1. Transitioning homesickness into the motivation to study hard. 2. Balancing academic schedule with leisure to maintain physical and psychological health.3. Playing an important and positive role in bridging CUP and KU, collecting foreign studying experiences, and then sharing them with their classmates inside the country. 4. Taking the initiative of integrating local culture to achieve self-improvement, while taking the advantage of the international environment to become a multi-disciplined energy talent with global worldview.
In the near future, CUP will continue to promote and refine interdisciplinary training initiatives that integrate “New Engineering +New Liberal Arts” by deepening cooperation with Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). The two sides plan to carry out a series of joint activities to promote CPC branch co-construction and to strengthen collaboration in key areas such as curriculum development, program alignment, and the optimization of education structures. CUP said these efforts will further improve the training mechanism and help cultivate graduates with strong professional expertise and cross-cultural communication competence, providing talent support for national energy strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative.