On February 20^th, 2025, Professor Attaullah Shah, the Vice-Chancellor of Karakoram International University (KIU) in Pakistan, visited the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR) of Sichuan University and held an exchange symposium. Professor Baofeng Di – the Dean of IDMR welcomed the visit of Professor Attaullah Shah and his delegation, and expressed the hope of strengthening cooperation between the two institutions, especially in talent cultivation and scientific research. Professor Yi LU, the Vice Dean of IDMR provided a detailed presentation about IDMR's background and its fundamental engagements  concerning education, research, international cooperation and social services. Associate Professor Bingwei TIAN, the Head of the IDMR’s Department of Urban Safety, Health and Management, Associate Professor Zhipan NIU, the Head of the IDMR’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Science and Engineering, and other relevant faculty members attended the symposium.

During the symposium, Professor Attaullah introduced the unique geographical location of Karakoram International University within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and also provided an overview of KIU. He shared the achievements of KIU in promoting climate education and research, particularly the local experience gained through collaborating with vulnerable communities to restore ecosystems and mitigate climate change. As the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Himalayan Universities Consortium (HUC), Professor Attaullah also introduced HUC's development vision and its cooperation with Chinese universities and research institutions. He also highly praised the work of the HUC’s Working Group on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and Resilience led by IDMR and expressed his optimism in it institute to continue playing a greater and future role in the Consortium. In the end, Professor Attaullah Shah held discussions with our IDMR's faculty team on topics among others, including climate change, disaster management, and prevention and mitigation. They reached a consensus on advancing scientific research collaboration, talent cultivation, and faculty and student exchanges, as well as jointly organizing academic conferences.