GEC Held the International Interdisciplinary Innovative Talent Cultivation Forum at the 23rd China Annual Conference & Expo for International Education
Develop. Grow. Succeed.
The 23rd China Annual Conference & Expo for International Education (CACIE) was held both online and offline at the Beijing International Conference Center on February 17, 2023, with the theme of “Reshaping Education: Adaption and Transformation”. Organized by the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), the event brought together educators, scholars, and representatives from various universities, institutions, and academia to discuss the current state and future of education.
People attending the Plenary Session of China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education at Beijing International Conference Center (Picture released by China Education Association for International Exchange)
Sponsored by CEAIE, GEC Academy and Shanghai Jiao Tong University - GEC Academy Center of Innovative Design for Interdisciplinary Studies hosted the International Interdisciplinary Innovative Talent Cultivation Forum to discuss directions and goals of nurturing international, interdisciplinary, and innovative talents amid global changes. Hundreds of educators, university leaders, teachers, and relevant experts were invited to join in the conversation for this parallel session.
Followed by guest speeches, Mr. Andre Schlesinger, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Professor Jonathan Michie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Kellogg College at Oxford University, and Secretary-General Wang Yongli of CEAIE, delivered their opening speeches and warmly welcomed every audience respectively.
Professor Jonathan Michie explained governmental efforts on interdisciplinary research in the UK and the endeavor on innovation at Oxford during his speech. “In Britain, we have a Research Exercise Framework (REF), and the exercise takes place every five or six years where the founders of universities look at the research exercise at different universities to decide how much of the national funding should go to each university. I’ve been arguing for a long time - I’ve been involved in this process for a long time at different universities - that the funding process has to take proper care of interdisciplinary publications. Recognition in disciplinary work is very important. I’m pleased to say that in Britain, that research exercise framework now has incorporated interdisciplinary panel members who review the work.” He noted.
Several experts were invited to give keynote speeches during the session.
Mr. Shen giving a speech during the sharing (Picture released by China Education Association for International Exchange)
Mr. Shen Cong, CEO of GEC Academy, started his speech with a sharing of the goal of GEC Academy, “GEC Academy is committed to cultivating the next generation of talents with global competence, promoting the developments of talent nurturing from within.” He then summarized GEC’s efforts to achieve the goals in the past few years.
Mr. Shen Cong asserted that global competence is not only crucial for language major students, but for all students. “Especially in the backdrop of confronting complex international issues, students of science and engineering require more global competence training”, he said.
Mr. Zhao giving a speech during the sharing (Picture released by China Education Association for International Exchange)
Mr. Zhao Tianshou, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chair Professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology, who is a renowned expert in the field of energy technology, shared insights on talent cultivation and interdisciplinary research in the field of carbon-neutral energy.
According to Zhao, interdisciplinary research plays a crucial role in the development of energy technology. “To advance the creation of new energy technologies and achieve carbon neutrality goals, both talent cultivation and research and development require interdisciplinary collaboration”, Zhao stated. Zhao’s remarks underscore the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in achieving breakthroughs in the field of energy technology.
Ms. Liu giving a speech during the sharing (Picture released by China Education Association for International Exchange)
Ms. Liu Hong, President of Dalian University of Foreign Languages, emphasized both the importance of the understanding of one’s identity and the necessity of constant communication with the world. She pointed out that, “ in the process of cultivating foreign language talents, we should maintain active communication and cooperation with the international community. Therefore, the transformational training of foreign language talents is very important.”
After several speeches given by the experts, two roundtable sessions were held to discuss topics such as “Research and Practice on International and Merit-Based Innovative Talent Training Model” and “Discussion on the Practice of Internationalization and Cross-disciplinary Talent Cultivation in the Post-Epidemic Era”.
All the participants reached the consensus that international collaboration and exchange are crucial solutions for building interdisciplinary and innovative talent cultivation models. The importance of interdisciplinary studies and talent cultivation in shaping a nation’s scientific and technological capabilities was also highlighted.
With the objective of cultivating the innovators of tomorrow, GEC will continue to provide dedicated service and excellent course delivery in more areas and will be expecting more academic and research opportunities created by the institutional affiliations.