Zizhu International Education Park (ZIEP) groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 19, 2013. Xue Mingyang, the director and Li Ruiyang, the deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Sunchao, secretary of CPC Minhang District Committee, Mo Fuchun, deputy governor of Minhang District, Shen Wen, the president and GM of Zizhu Hi-tech Zone attended the ceremony along with the other leaders from Shanghai Jiaotong University, East China Normal University and Fudan University.

Yang Demei, deputy chief of Minhang District presided over the ceremony. President of Shanghai Jiaotong University Zhang Jie delivered a speech. Board chairman Shen Wen and governor Mo Fuchun jointly inaugurated the education park.

ZIER is a main project for Minhang District to implement the spirit of the 18th CPC National congress and speed up the formation of a new mode of economic development through innovation and economic restructuring. It will greatly internationalize the education of Shanghai and enhance its competitiveness. It will also fasten the construction of “four centers” of Shanghai.

Located in the core area of Zizhu Hi-tech zone and close to Shanghai Jiaotong University and East China Normal University, the Education Park enjoys convenient transportation, rich intellectual resources and intensive innovative platforms. With a planned area of about 533，600 square meters, including a 400,000 square meters of construction area of teaching and supporting facilities, the park will be invested jointly by Minhang District Government and Zizhu Hi-tech Zone. After completion, four to five sino-foreign cooperative colleges and education programs with about 5,000 students will settle down here.

Currently, the construction work goes smoothly. The overall conceptual design of the park designed by an internationally renowned company has been basically completed. It has signed cooperation agreements with Shanghai Jiaotong University-Institute of Science and Technology of Paris Excellence Engineering College and the Hotel Management School of Cornell University. ZIER will actively build a platform for international cooperation in education and decision-making consultation with the characteristics of “independent management, shared school resources and the combination of production, teaching and research. The park will start the construction of the first phase and speed up the process of introducing high-quality projects.

Aiming at the leading strategic emerging industries and modern services, ZIER will actively introduce world-class universities and colleges and build a demonstration zone for high-quality education resources gathering place and close combination of production, teaching and research to provide a strong driving force to promote the restructuring and development of Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region.