On Oct 22, Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) signed Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Doctoral Degree Program in Takata Conference Hall, School of Mechanical Engineering (ME). Gerhard Schmidt, Chief Technical Officer, Vice President of Ford, Pim Van Der Jagt, Executive Technical Leader of Ford, Matthew Zaluzec, Manager of Global Materials and Processes Research of Ford, HAN Weijian, Director Research for Ford Asia Pacific, Wei Shen, Senior Scientist, Ford China, Prof. Chaohui Du, Executive Dean of Graduate School, SJTU and Prof. Lifeng Xi, Executive Dean of ME attended MoU Signing Ceremony.

The ceremony was hosted by Prof. Lifeng Xi. Prof. Chaohui Du and Dr.Gerhard Schmidt, respectively on behalf of SJTU and Ford signed MoU on Joint Doctoral Degree Program. After the ceremony, Prof. Du gave a warm remark expressing his welcome and gratitude for Ford's jointly doctoral training program, meanwhile, stressing that cooperation between university and company surely provides a platform for students' putting theroy into practice. Through the program, students gain the knowledge to complete their degree, while working and doing research with scientists and engineers at Ford.

Later on, Dr. Gerhard Schmidt gave a speech on Blueprint for Sustainability, introducing Ford's measures in carbon emission reduction against global warming and related sustainable development goal.