Professor Lingyun Xiang, a Foreign Academician of the National Academy of Engineering of Ukraine, has recently been awarded the International Cultural Exchange Ambassador Certificate by the Embassy of Ukraine in China.
Ukrainian diplomat Gili and the Secretary to Professor Lingyun Xiang, a Foreign Academician of the National Academy of Engineering of Ukraine in China.
Ukraine, with its capital Kyiv, is located in Eastern Europe along the northern coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It shares borders with Belarus to the north, Russia to the northeast, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west, and Romania and Moldova to the south. Rich in mineral resources, Ukraine covers 603,700 square kilometers, making it the second-largest country in Europe by land area. The country is divided into 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (the Republic of Crimea), and two cities with special status (the capital Kyiv and Sevastopol).
As of September 2022, Ukraine's total population was 41.13 million (excluding the Crimea region). Ukraine is classified as a developing country with a highly advanced agricultural sector, though its industrial development, particularly in manufacturing, lags. Ukraine ranks as the fifth-largest exporter of IT services in the world. It is the largest market for software development, programming, and IT outsourcing services in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2021, Ukraine's GDP was approximately $200 billion.
The National Academy of Engineering of Ukraine is one of Ukraine's highest academic institutions. It originated as the Ukrainian Republic Branch of the Soviet Union Academy of Engineering. In 1998, it became a member of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), a global alliance that includes engineering academies from 27 countries, such as the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
As of December 2023, the National Academy of Engineering of Ukraine has over 160 academicians, more than 130 corresponding members, and over 50 foreign academicians. The current president of the academy is Petro Mihailovich Talanchuk, who previously served as Ukraine's Minister of Education and Science, President of the National Technical University of Ukraine (formerly Kyiv Polytechnic Institute), a candidate in the 1994 Ukrainian presidential election, and currently an advisor to the President of Ukraine.
Professor Xiang was elected on July 22, 2024. He is a recipient of the British King’s Medal and the European Outstanding Achievement Award. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, a Lifetime Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Foreign Full Member of the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Ukraine. Professor Xiang holds lifelong professorships at the European Union University and the National University of Maryland, where he also serves as a doctoral supervisor. He is also a Special-Term Professor at Peking University Boya, a visiting professor at Beijing Union University, Capital Normal University, and Shaanxi University of Science & Technology.