Rector José Capilla signs four strategic agreements with Beihang University and celebrates the Chinese Ministry’s final approval of the Beihang Valencia Polytechnic Institute

The Beihang Valencia Polytechnic Institute (BVPI), promoted by the Universitat Politècnica de València and Beihang University, continues to move “firmly forward”, as rector José Capilla highlighted during the signing ceremony held on the Vera campus. During the event, the rector and the president of Beihang University, Yunpeng Wang, signed four new agreements aimed at strengthening joint research and creating mixed laboratories in key areas such as artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, mechanics and computer science.

In addition, two further Memorandums of Understanding were signed: one between the UPV’s VRAIN Institute and Beihang University’s School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, and another reinforcing student exchange between the two institutions.

In his address, Capilla explained that this achievement represents a historic moment for the university, noting that “the UPV has become the first Spanish university to establish a campus in the People’s Republic of China, and we are doing so alongside one of the country’s leading higher education institutions”. In this regard, it has been highlighted that the BVPI project already has official approval from the Chinese Ministry of Education.

The signing took place during the institutional visit of a 22-member delegation from Beihang University to the Vera campus, accompanied by representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Spain, senior executives from several multinational companies, and the Regional Secretary for Universities, Esther Gómez.

The BVPI will begin its academic activity in the 2026/27 academic year and is designed to host up to 2,000 students. Its academic offer will include four bachelor’s degrees, six master’s degrees and four doctoral programmes. The centre has also been selected as a pilot project for the Sino-Foreigner Excellence Engineering Program, which will allow UPV students to obtain Beihang University’s official degree after a study period in China, paving the way for a full double degree recognised in both Spain and China.

For his part, President Yunpeng Wang stated that Beihang is committed to working with the UPV guided by the principles of inclusion, innovation and cooperation, and expressed his hope that the new joint laboratories will promote international research projects and strengthen collaboration between industry and universities.

Rector Capilla concluded by stressing that the progress of the BVPI is the result of the collective effort of the university community and a shared vision with Beihang, noting that “this alliance strengthens the UPV as an international benchmark in research, innovation and talent development”.