The Global University Presidents Forum of Shandong University was recently held, and the participating presidents talked about the development trend of global higher education

"The world is experiencing major changes unprecedented in a century, and the global governance system is undergoing profound changes. While disrupting the rhythm of social operation, the COVID-19 epidemic has also triggered profound changes in education models and formats, giving birth to new opportunities for the development of higher education. Recently, at the Global University Presidents Forum held by Shandong University, Fan Liming, president of Shandong University, called on global universities to enhance exchanges and cooperation and promote the common development of higher education in the future.

The Global University Presidents Forum echoed the common concerns of the domestic and foreign education circles in the post-epidemic era, focusing on the theme of "Higher Education for a Common Future: Meeting Global Challenges", 17 presidents of universities at home and abroad discussed the future development trend of global higher education on three topics: "International Cooperation and Exchanges of Universities in the Post-EPIDEMIC Era", "Responsibilities of Universities in Cultural Exchanges and Common Development of Mankind" and "Innovative Development of Universities and Regions".

Digitalization helps universities to enter a new dimension of international cooperation

"The epidemic has once again made us see the importance of international scientific research cooperation, cooperation can solve the problems facing the world, and international cooperation in the post-epidemic era will become an important task for universities." Malcolm Bettler, vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, proposed that universities should strengthen international cooperation to meet the challenges of globalization.

Duan Chongzhi, president of the University of Chinese in Hong Kong, China, said the global fight against the epidemic shows that universities can play a more active role in facing social and environmental challenges. "In the same global village, we share common needs. In the current serious crisis, universities need to shoulder their due responsibilities. ”

During the epidemic, the adaptability and adaptability of global higher education have increased, and online teaching has weakened the impact of the epidemic on students' learning plans. Many university presidents believe that digital technology will provide new opportunities for the future development of higher education and exchanges and cooperation.

Brian Schmidt, president of the Australian National University, pointed out that the epidemic has blocked international exchanges, and digital technology is an important way to break through the barriers of the epidemic. He believes that universities should strengthen international cooperation and exchanges through digital channels and make greater contributions to knowledge innovation and scientific and technological development.

Similarly, Oleg Yastrepov, president of the Russian Peoples Friendship University, believes that digitalization has been linked to all aspects of school development. He proposed that in the future, universities should pay more attention to online teaching, be more inclined to practical and targeted professional quality training and skill transfer, and pay more attention to the diversity of college students.

Entering the post-epidemic era, Luo Zhongxuan, assistant to the president of Dalian University of Technology in China, said that the school has begun to build a platform for two-way exchanges and international cooperation through modes such as "online cooperative teaching, online learning with the same window", "short-term exchange first, and the training of this research through", "twin campus" and "synchronous classroom". Duncan Muskell, president of the University of Melbourne in Australia, also pointed out that cloud conferences and cloud research have gradually become the norm of cooperation and exchange between universities.

Intercultural dialogue in universities helps humanity build consensus and enhance understanding

Addressing and responding to global challenges such as COVID-19 requires good cooperation, which is based on consensus forged by multicultural exchanges. Xu Jingwen, Vice President of the University of Macau, China, pointed out that with the strengthening of economic globalization, the world is becoming closer and closer, and universities are increasingly becoming important places for cultural exchanges.

Pericle Lewis, vice president of Yale University in the United States, said: "Universities shoulder important responsibilities in cultural exchanges and the common development of mankind. "Yale students come from more than 50 countries around the world, and in recent years, in order to cultivate students' sense of human community and global competence, Yale University has cooperated with many universities and institutions around the world to build the Institute of Global Health, the School of Global Affairs, and the Natural Carbon Capture Center.

"Through intercultural dialogue, higher education builds consensus among different human groups and promotes mutual understanding of each other." Sarah Manglesdorf, president of the University of Rochester in the United States, said that universities should pay attention to building a global curriculum system including international relations, public health, environmental protection and language teaching, creating a more diverse cultural environment, and cultivating culturally conscious international talents who can cooperate with any part of the world.

Pan Weida, president of Soochow University in Taiwan, believes that the epidemic has provided an opportunity for global universities to try to open up new platforms for cross-border learning. "Universities need to think about how to do a better education and how to create new values." Pan Weida proposed that universities should try to develop cross-campus, transnational, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary joint projects.

University "think tanks" inject vitality into regional economic and social development

As a center of talent training and scientific research, the university has always supported each other with regional economic and social development, and has achieved win-win results. When sharing the thinking of universities and regional innovation and development, Zhang Xi, president of Jilin University in China, believes that universities, as the "think tank" of regional development, need to attach great importance to the new needs of talent training and scientific research put forward by the current regional development.

In the view of Shin Dong-yeol, president of Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, "self-innovation and getting out of the isolated ivory tower" is an important step for higher education to adapt to regional economic and technological development. He proposed that there is a greater consensus on traditional values in East Asia, and that cutting-edge technological wisdom can be pooled to further create new values and create a common future.

During the epidemic, Sichuan University in China relied on the advantages of West China Medicine to provide strong support for the anti-epidemic work in the local area and other parts of the country. Li Yanrong, president of Sichuan University, believes that the region and universities should establish a virtuous circle of campus-site cooperation. "The higher the level of regional economic development, the stronger the ability to support colleges and universities, and the ability of universities to serve local areas will be greatly improved, which will boost the speed of regional economic development."

In the innovation and development of university service areas, the in-depth integration of production, education and research is a key link. Takaro Ishibashi, president of Kyushu University in Japan, believes that universities can play a more important role in leading innovation, promoting the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge, and realizing the transformation of R&D achievements.

Yan Chunhua, president of Lanzhou University in China, suggested that the integration of industry, education and research in colleges and universities should combine theoretical learning, school practical learning and driven learning of social problems. "Colleges and universities should face the needs of society, change the setting of disciplines and majors, break the boundaries between solidified disciplines and majors, and achieve innovative development in the intersection of disciplines and social integration." Yan Chunhua said.

Zhao Changchang, deputy director of the School Affairs Committee of Xi'an Jiaotong University in China, took the Science and Technology Innovation Port as an example to share the experience and practices of the school in solving the bottleneck problem of the in-depth integration of industry, education and research through the implementation of teaching and research integration, interdisciplinary disciplines, integration of industry and education, collaborative education, and innovation projects, and promoting the school's in-depth integration into regional scientific and technological innovation and economic and social development.

Lee Kwan-young, executive vice president of Korea University in South Korea, also shared: "According to the development and needs of society, Korea University has established new faculties and research institutions such as data science, semiconductor engineering, and urban regeneration to promote the development of cutting-edge cutting-edge technologies. ”

Author: Li Ping, a reporter of this newspaper