International Alliance of ‘Belt & Road’ Engineering Education Established in Hangzhou

The 2018 Symposium on Engineering Talent Cultivation in the Context of Belt & Road and the 13th International Conference on Scientific and Educational Development Strategies were held in Hangzhou on November 9-11. A constellation of scholars, experts and business magnates from approximately 100 domestic and foreign universities, enterprises and organizations delved deeply into problems, opportunities and challenges related to engineering education in the context of the Belt & Road Initiative.

At the symposium, the International Alliance of ‘Belt & Road’ Engineering Education was officially inauguarated. Headed by Zhejiang University, this alliance was co-launched by over 10 institutions and enterprises, including Beihang University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Chongqing University, Xi’an JiaotongUniversity, Southwest Jiaotong University, University Tunku Abdul Rahman from Malaysia, the University of Novi Sad from Serbia, Brunei Darussalam University, China Communications Construction Co. Ltd., Alibaba Cloud and Hengyi Petrochemical Co. Ltd.. In accordance with the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, it aimed at involving more institutions of higher learning, organizations, enterprises and stakeholders in more systematic, sustained and practical international cooperation.

“With the massive construction of infrastructure in Belt & Road countries, it will become a primary mission for first-class universities to provide intellectual support and cultivate talents for these countries. This symposium will definitely create a new chapter for the cultivation of top engineers for the construction of the Road & Belt Initiative and open up a wider avenue to building a global community of engineering education,” ZOU Xiaodong, Party Secretary of Zhejiang University, said in his opening remark.

Keynote speakers of this symposium included Prof. ZHU Gaofeng, Prof. SUN Yongfu, WU Yan, Head of the Department of Higher Education with the Ministry of Education, ZHANG Zongyi, President of Chongqing University, YAN Jianhua, Vice President of Zhejiang University, YUAN Si, Vice Director of the Affairs Commission of Tsinghua University, FunsoAlphonsusFalade, President of African Engineering Education Association and Luis Manuel Sanchez Ruiz, Vice President of the European Association for Engineering Education. They elaborated on the changes, opportunities, challenges and future of engineering educationand stressed the urgency of reforming engineering education and the importance of building new engineering disciplines against the backdrop of the Belt & Road Initiative.