ON his recent visit to Shanghai, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, received an honorary professorship at Tongji University.

　　The honor was given by Prof. Wan Gang, President of Tongji University and Minister of the State Science and Technology Ministry. At the same time, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, a member of Volkswagen's Board, with responsibility for development, was appointed advisory professor at the Tongji University.

　Tongji University and Volkswagen have maintained a close cooperative tie for several years. "I take this award as a special honor for me and I regard it my task to be actively-involved in the development of our future cooperation, " said Dr. Winterkorn at the award ceremony. He first became a member of Tongji University's Council in May 2007.

　　As Chairman of the Volkswagen-Tongji Automotive Institute, established in June 2000, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg gave high praise to the decisive role that Tongji University has played concerning research in China's automotive industry. Currently Volkswagen and the University are cooperating on seven projects.