ECNU has established friendly and cooperative relations with more than 50 universities and institutions in North America, featuring a rich variety of cooperation and a high rate of agreement implementation.

In terms ofcooperation with universities and institutions in the United States, ECNU has established cooperative relationships with more than 40 universities and institutions, including New York University, University of Virginia, and University of California, Berkeley. In 2012, ECNU and New York University jointly established NYU Shanghai. Based on this Sino-foreign cooperative education project, ECNU has carried out multi-level and in-depth cooperation with NYU and NYU Shanghai in regular teacher-student exchanges, joint graduate cultivation programs, and joint research centers, etc., which has greatly improved international talent cultivation and scientific research. In addition, ECNU has established joint research centers/research institutes/studios with many well-known American universities and institutions, including Cornell University and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, to promote the discipline construction of ECNU through substantive and high-level joint scientific research.

In terms of cooperation withuniversities and institutionsin Canada, ECNU has established cooperative relations with 10 universities and institutions including Victoria University, University of British Columbia, and University of Alberta. Specifically, ECNU and the University of Alberta jointly established the ECNU-UA Joint Institute of Advanced Science and Technology to cultivate high-level and high-quality scientific and technological talents in the field of optoelectronic information and advanced nanomaterials, creating a model of cooperation between China and Canada in higher education and technological innovation.

In terms of cooperation withuniversities and institutions in Mexico, ECNU has signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Merida, Mexico and La Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán to promote Sino-Mexico cultural cooperation and exchanges.

ECNU has established friendly and cooperative relations with 6 universities and institutions in South America, including Candido Mendes University, Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos), and Cearense Foundation of Support for Scientific and Technological Development (FUNCAP), and EAN (Escuela de Administración de Negocios) University and Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, and the University of Santo Tomás in Chile.

The University of Santo Tomás is the first sister school of ECNU in South America. A cooperation agreement was officially signed between ECNU and University of Santo Tomas in December 2010. The two universities signed an agreement to build a joint research centerin April 2015. Scholars from the two universities have carried out cooperative research and mutual visits in the fields of estuary and coast, environmental research, social development, and educational technology. As Chile features a special geographical location and abundant natural resources, multi-field cooperation has been fostered by the State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research of ECNU since the two universities began to cooperate. Moreover, the two universities signed an agreement of jointly cultivating PhDs in the field of estuary and coast and environment in 2018. They also agreed to carry out exchange programs for undergraduates majoring in Spanish.

In addition, ECNU has established an inter-school relationship with the Candido Mendes University in Brazil. Professor Enrique Larreta, Director of the Institute of Multiculturalism of the University, is currently a professor at the Latin American Cultural Research Center of ECNU. ECNU has signed a cooperation agreement with the Cearense Foundation of Support for Scientific and Technological Development (FUNCAP) in the field of estuary and coasts, jointly applying for projects of the China Scholarship Council. Additionally, ECNU has signed a memorandum of cooperation with EAN (Escuela de Administración de Negocios) University and Universidad del Rosario to promote the exchanges of students majoring in Spanish and advance the study of history and culture.

ECNU has established friendly and cooperative relations with a total of 73 universities from Japan, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia, etc

Since the early 1980s, ECNU has carried out educational exchanges and cooperation with universities in Japan. At present, ECNU has established cooperative relations with more than 50 universities and institutions in Japan including the University of Tokyo, Kyushu University, Waseda University, and the University of Tsukuba. In 2021, the “Asian Campus+”, a cross-professional cooperation project between ECNU and Japan, South Korea, and six schools of six ASEAN countries, was successfully approved as the third phase of the “Asian Campus” project of the Ministry of Educationof the People’s Republic of China.

In terms of cooperation withuniversities and institutions inSouth Korea,ECNU has signed cooperation agreements with 18 universities in South Korea. In particular, it has conducted long- and middle-term student exchanges and other forms of substantial cooperation with 11 universities including Korea University, Hanyang University, Pusan National University, Konkuk University, and Dongguk University. In addition, about 40 faculty members visit universities and research institutions in South Korea every year to participate in international conferences and other diversified academic exchanges.

In terms of cooperation withuniversities and institutions inIsrael,ECNU has signed cooperation agreements with 4 universities. The cooperation with Israel mainly focuses on a series of exchanges and cooperation with the University of Haifa. The ECNU-UH Joint Translational Science and Technology Research Institute, co-established in 2016 by ECNU, Haifa University, Government of Minhang District, Shanghai, and Shanghai Zizhu Hi-Tech Digital Hub Co. Ltd, mainly focuses on in-depth cooperation in life medicine and new drug research and development, ecological and environmental engineering, neurological and brain science, and data science.

Furthermore, the School of Computer Science and Technology and the Software Engineering Institute of ECNU have carried out exchange programs with the School of Computer Science of the National University of Singapore. Besides, ECNU has organized programs for postgraduates majoring in overseas education with Pay Fong High School, Malacca. Moreover, the university has carried out long-term exchanges with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Hanoi National University of Education in the fields of international Chinese language education and social sciences and humanities respectively.

ECNU has established cooperative relations with nearly 130 universities in Europe, featuring a broad range of cooperation and active cultural exchanges.

In the French-speaking area, with a long history of cooperation with universities in French, ECNU has achieved remarkable results. Specifically, ECNU has carried out dual-degree joint training, student exchanges, short-term study tours, Sino-foreign cooperation in running schools, and co-construction of international joint laboratories with nearly 30 different types of higher education institutions.Particularly, the Sino-French joint postgraduate training program co-organized with three French normal schoolsrepresented by Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, and the Asia-Europe Business School co-organized with Emlyon Business School have become an important part of international education. In addition, ECNU is also an important destination for French students to study in China, therefore France has become the third largest source of international students of ECNU.

In the Russian-speaking area, focusing on humanities and scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges, ECNU has established cooperative relations with more than 30 universities and institutions, including Lomonosov Moscow State University, National Research University, Higher School of Economics, and Novosibirsk State University, carrying out student and teacher exchanges, short-term study tours, joint application for international cooperation projects, and joint construction of international joint laboratories, etc.

In terms of German-speaking areas, focusing on cultural and people-to-people exchanges and research, ECNU has signed contracts with nearly 20 universities including Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Hamburg, Göttingen University, and the University of Basel. Featuring global academic exchanges, these universities have carried out diversified teacher and student exchanges, and jointly established the “ECNU-Jena University Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences” and “ECNU-Göttingen University Research Center for Global Humanities”, which has produced a number of high-level scientific research cooperation results and promoted exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and Western civilizations.

Meanwhile, ECNU has also actively carried out teacher and student exchanges and training with universities in Britain such as the University of Manchester and Durham University. Based on the exchanges and learning between students, Meng Xiancheng College and the College of Teacher Education of ECNU havecarried out in-depth exchanges and diversified cooperation with relevant colleges and education colleges of Durham University respectively. The doctor dissertation co-cultivated with Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands in the field of estuarine and coastal science was published as a cover paper in the top-ranking journalJGR: Earth Surface. In addition, ECNU and the Wailian Group jointly established the Overseas China Research Center serving as an exchange platform for humanities and social sciences of ECNU and the academic circles of Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe.

At present, ECNU has conducted cooperative relations with 13 universities in Australia and 4 universities in New Zealand. Specifically, ECNU has organized non-academic higher education programs in business management courses since 1995 with La Trobe University. ECNU and Macquarie University havecarried outdual-degree programs for masters of finance, short-term exchange programs for faculty and staff, and joint doctoral training programs, as well as dual-degree programs for undergraduates in the fields of geographic science and communication with the University of Queensland. In addition, ECNU and Monash Universityhave conductedshort-term exchanges for teachers and doctoral students in the field of education, and also hascarried outdouble-degree master's programs with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology inthe field of art.

Founded in 1985, the ECNU Australian Studies Center is one of the earliest Australian research institutions in China. The center has cultivated a large number of talents studying Australia, and has published a large number of monographs, translations, papers and translations on Australian research, which has produced a great influence in this field. ECNU and New Zealand Studies Center, established in May 2002, is the first institution in China to research New Zealand. The center teaches undergraduates and postgraduates, and engages in scientific research and translation work.

Currently, ECNU hascarried outfriendly exchanges with 4 universities in Africa including the University of Dar es Salaam and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Tanzania, and Kafresheikh University and Cairo University in Egypt. Over the years, with a long history of research on Africa and numerous research talents, ECNU has carried out close cooperation and exchanges with African universities. The three-volume ”General History of Africa”, published by East China Normal University Press in 1995 and edited by Professor Ai Zhouchang of ECNU represents the highest level of research on African history in China, which has also won many awards in Shanghai Municipality and national awards as well .

Since 2010, ECNU has signed a "one-to-one" university cooperative agreement with the University of Dar es Salaam, a famous university in East Africa, focusing on the three dimensions, "China-Tanzania historical relations, history of East Africa, research onSwahili civilization", “Cooperative scientific research and joint training of PhD students in the fields of estuary and coast”, and “Master of Education in Developing Countries and Seminar Program for Principals of Primary and Secondary Schools”. In addition, ECNU has carried out in-depth cooperation with scholars in the fields of history, marine science and education at the University of Dar es Salaam. Taking advantage of the unique culture and geography of Africa, innovative research results have been made and a cross-continental platform of exchanges in educational philosophy, cooperation in educational projects, and cultural and people-to-people dialogue has been constructed.

In addition, ECNU hascarried out years of cooperation with scholars from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology on water security and watershed ecological diversity. Additionally, ECNU has signed inter-school cooperation memorandums with Cairo University and Kafresheikh University.