On November 26th, the 2022 Forum on the Development of International Education Cooperation and Quality Sino-Foreign Joint Running of Schools was held online by BJUT to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Beijing-Dublin International College (BDIC). About 300 guests from 105 institutions, including government agencies, universities from China and abroad, etc, attended the forum co-chaired by Wu Bin and Liu Jianping, Vice Presidents of BJUT.
At the opening ceremony, the speakers extended their warm congratulations and best wishes to BDIC and BJUT.
Ann Derwin, the Irish Ambassador to China, said, BDIC is an example of international education cooperation, and the Irish Embassy will deepen its cooperation with Chinese universities.
Wang Jingyao, Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Education, said, guided by the principles of the 20th National Congress of CPC, institutions of transnational education should stay true to the original aspiration of talent cultivation while striving for innovation and further opening up, in order to achieve high-quality development in this new era.
An Yan, Deputy Secretary General of China Education Association for International Exchange, encouraged BDIC to uphold its fundamental principles and break new grounds, so as to make greater contributions to BJUT's Double First-Class Initiative, Beijing's "Four Centers" construction, and the China-Ireland educational cooperation.
Sun Qijun, Deputy Director General of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, commended BDIC's achievements and emphasized that all institutes of higher learning should play an active part in regional education governance and cultural exchanges, help to build China into a leading country in education and contribute to the building of a community of shared destiny for all.
Li Yi, Deputy Director General of the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, said, BDIC symbolizes the friendship between Beijing and Dublin. More world-class universities are welcomed to collaborate with BJUT and the Foreign Affairs Office will provide unswerving support.
Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, who was the then President of University College Dublin when the BDIC was established, recalled the starting years of BDIC and felt so proud of what it is today.
Brian P. Schmidt, President and Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, stressed that BDIC is a flagship program of joint international education and that ANU will explore more cooperation with BJUT in the future.
Jiang Zeting, Secretary of the CPC BJUT Committee, expressed his heartfelt thanks to all forum participants. He said internationalization is a pillar of BJUT's development strategies and the University will take a more open, confident, and proactive stance in educational opening-up, promoting mutual learning and connectivity.
Besides the opening remarks, the forum contained 7 keynote reports, and 19 themed reports in three panel sessions. Nie Zuoren, President of BJUT, delivered a keynote report themed "Rooted in Beijing, Oriented to the World: Speed up High-quality Internationalization, Forge ahead to Build a World-Class University."
Over the past ten years, BDIC has cultivated over 1600 young talented individuals, 63% of whom furthered their studies in QS top 100 universities, by integrating the Chinese educational approach with quality international education resources. In the future, BJUT will endeavor to realize higher-quality international exchange and cooperation in all aspects.
