IREG - 2020 Beijing Conference, hosted by BJUT, was successfully held virtually from October 20 to October 21, 2020. The theme of the conference is "university rankings in the time of uncertainty", which has been received with undiluted enthusiasm from the international academic ranking community and attracted over 350 scholars and experts from 55 countries and regions around the world, including Phil Baty, editor in chief of THE World University Rankings, and Robert Morse, editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report's Rankings, and Ben Sowter, senior vice president of QS World University Rankings. Two-day cross-border communication and discussions over time zones delivered fruitful results for the conference.

LIU Gonghui, Deputy Secretary of CPC BJUT Committee and President of the University was invited to attend the conference and deliver an opening speech. Mr.LIU said that 2020 marks the 60th Anniversary of BJUT. The university originally planned to host the conference on the BJUT campus in October. However, after months of contemplation and negotiation since the global outbreak of COVID-19, IREG and the BJUT decided to go virtual with the Conference. President LIU stressed that knowledge has no boundaries. Althoug hall attendees could only meet online this year, he hoped that all the scholars and experts participating in the conference could take advantage of this opportunity to deeply consider and exchange the impacts, challenges, and opportunities brought by the current public health crisis and other international situations and factors on the academic rankings and global higher education.

Vice President GUO Fu made a keynote report entitled "Higher Education and International Cooperation in the Post-pandemic Era" during the academic seminar. He analyzed the immense impacts of the pandemicon global higher education And then shared BJUT practices in university operation and management during the pandemic from the aspects of online teaching, anti-pandemic research, campus management, student support, and international cooperation. At last, he summarized the new models and practices in global higher education during the pandemic and proposed that global universities should constantly enrich contents and forms of teaching, innovate educational technology, adjust research strategies, strengthen international cooperation, and make joint efforts to solve global problems faced by mankind.

In his speech, Mr. Luiz Claudio Costa, Chairman of IREG Observatory, especially expressed his gratitude to BJUT for its strong support to the conference as the organizer.

Meanwhile, a virtual booth was available on the online conference website to promote the brand image of BJUT in all aspects. All registered participants could click to view after logging onto the platform.

IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellenceor IREG Observatory is an international association of ranking organizations and universities. Its purpose is to strengthen the quality of national, regional, and international university rankings.Its members have the opportunity to acquire the latest trends in the academic ranking of higher education, and to have a direct dialogue with the world's leading well-known contributors for world rankings and experts for academic rankings.

Since 2017, BJUT has officially become a member of IREG Observatory. It has sent several delegations to attend the annual IREG conference to strengthen branding and increase global reputation. Mr. Kazimierz Bilanow, Secretary-General of IREG Observatory, visited the university in October 2019. The two sides reached a consensus on the cooperation of the IREG - 2020 Beijing Conference.