Chula and Tsinghua University Sign MOU to Advance Modern Library and AI-Driven Academic Infrastructure 

On February 27, 2026, at Meeting Room 702 of the Office of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University, and the reception room of the Chulalongkorn University Auditorium, Professor Dr. Wilert Puriwat, President of Chulalongkorn University, welcomed a delegation from Tsinghua University led by Prof. Guo Yong, Vice Chancellor of the Tsinghua University Council, along with Prof. Liu Jian of the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) and colleagues. The delegation attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two universities. 

The agreement aims to develop personnel capacity, strengthen knowledge infrastructure, and foster innovation in academic information systems—expanding beyond existing academic and research collaborations. It also seeks to promote the role of the “modern library” as a key university infrastructure supporting teaching, research, and innovation at the international level. 

The MOU was formally signed by Associate Professor Dr. Amorn Petsom, Director of the Office of Academic Resources at Chulalongkorn University, and Prof. Jianbin Jin, Director of the Tsinghua University Library. The agreement establishes a results-oriented and action-driven framework focusing on human resource development, knowledge infrastructure enhancement, and joint innovation. 

Professor Dr. Wilert Puriwat emphasized the importance of borderless education, stating that in an increasingly interconnected world, collaboration among leading higher education institutions extends beyond academic exchange to building a borderless knowledge ecosystem. While countries may have borders, education should not. This partnership reflects both universities’ commitment to sharing resources, strengthening academic excellence, and creating positive regional and global impact. 

Prof. Guo Yong noted that this MOU lays a strong foundation for long-term cooperation between the two institutions, which have maintained close relations through ongoing exchanges of executives and staff. The collaboration will open opportunities for academic exchanges, digital resource integration, innovative research, and the responsible application of AI. He also invited Chulalongkorn representatives to visit Tsinghua University in the near future. 

Prof. Jianbin Jin highlighted that this agreement marks an important milestone in library collaboration, which began in 2018 through the Asian Universities Alliance network. Both institutions bring complementary strengths and can share knowledge resources to enhance mutual capabilities. In the era of the Digital Revolution, libraries must serve both as guardians of knowledge and as drivers of digital transformation, leveraging AI to support management and research. A joint academic conference is also planned under the AUA Library Practice Dialogue in November. 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amorn Petsom added that modern university libraries function as academic ecosystems supporting research and stewarding institutional knowledge. This MOU represents a shared mission to pursue practical collaboration through three main approaches: personnel capacity development, joint innovation initiatives, and knowledge resource exchange. It also promotes AI-driven services, open data management, and digital preservation within relevant legal frameworks. 

This collaboration will advance joint efforts in key areas of modern library and academic infrastructure development, including: 

• Personnel development and knowledge exchange through study visits, staff exchanges, fellowship programs, seminars, training sessions, and knowledge-sharing activities. 
• Joint academic activities and innovation development, leading to shared scholarly outputs such as conferences, co-authored academic papers, collaborative research, and innovation projects—such as AI development to enhance service efficiency and complex support functions, research data management, and digital preservation for the long-term stewardship of digital information resources. 
• Information and resource sharing to support teaching and research, conducted in compliance with copyright laws and each institution’s data usage policies. 

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