Scene of the Forum

Welcome remarks by Madam LIYan, deputy mayor of Xuzhou Municipal Government

Keynote speech by Prof. YUAN Liang, president of Anhui University Of Science & Technology, China  and Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering

Keynote speech by Prof. ZHAO Ji, president of Northeastern University, China.

Keynote speech by Prof. Sarah Todd, vice president of Griffith University, Australia

Keynote speech by Prof. Jürgen Kretschmann, President of TH Georg Agricola University in Germany

Keynote speech by Prof. Hai-sui Yu, deputy vice-chancellor  of the University of Leeds, UK and fellow of British Royal Academy of Engineering  

Opening remarks by Prof. ZHOU Fubao, vice president of CUMT

Keynote speech by Prof. Song Xuefeng, president of CUMT

Scene of the Forum

As part of the China University of Mining and Technology’s 110th anniversary celebrations, the  China-Foreign President Forum was held in the Lecture Hall of  CUMT’s  Main Library on June 1. The theme of the forum is "Innovative Development of Higher Education towards the Future." More than 200 invited guests attended the forum, including presidents, teachers and students from 25 overseas universities and around 20 universities in China.

Ms. LI Yan, deputy mayor of Xuzhou municipal government, delivered a welcome speech, in which she made an introduction to the city of Xuzhou and expounded on the idea of city-university co-development. She said," higher education greatly supports development of the city, and is an indispensable part of the vigor, strength and driving force of the city. Multiple strategic opportunities have opened up  a broader prospect for city-university co-development, and a first-class cultural environment has ensured the development of science and education."

Prof. ZHOU Fubao, vice president of CUMT, delivered opening remarks. He said," Higher education, as a backbone of building China into a leading power in education, undertakes the major responsibility and historic mission of nurturing talents, scientific research, social service, inheriting and passing on cultural heritage and international exchange and cooperation". He raised several questions at the conference. For example, how can universities achieve modernization of its management system and capability in the future? How can universities learn from each other's success to promote innovation? How can universities make contributions to build a community with a shared future for the mankind? "These questions reflect the theme of our times which need both Chinese and foreign universities and all people engaged in the higher education sector to find the answer", he said.

At  the forum, six delegates are invited to deliver keynote speeches.

Prof. YUAN Liang, president of Anhui University of Science & Technology and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a keynote speech on " Innovation & Development of the Leading Energy in China: Opportunities and Challenges". He introduced China's achievements in coal mining, energy innovation and technological equipment as well as many challenges China is facing. Also，he proposed several suggestions like "precision coal mining", "integrated scientific resources" and "collaborative innovation".

Prof. Jürgen Kretschmann, president of TH Georg Agricola University in Germany delivered  a keynote speech on " Empowerment of Future Generations: A Teaching Model for a Sustainable World". He introduced the idea of heuristic teaching and proposed knowledge transfer model. He emphasized that students should be the center of teaching and teachers is responsible to encourage and inspire students like a manager of a football club.

ZHAO Ji, president of China’s Northeastern University, made a keynote speech on "Future-oriented Higher Education Innovation". He holds that new industrial revolution and artificial intelligence pose new challenges to higher education, which makes innovation and transformation as the theme of university development. For future higher education innovation, he proposed extensive and in-depth cross-disciplinary research, multi-dimensional development, and nurturing innovative and pioneering talents who can adapt to and win the future.

Prof. Sarah Todd, vice president of Griffith University in Australia, made a keynote speech on "Development of a Comprehensive Approach to University Internationalization". She emphasized that for the international strategies of higher education, there are two requirements. On one hand, changes both at home and abroad should be noted and communication and cooperation with overseas universities should be conducted in an open and tolerate manner. On the other hand, self-evaluation of each university should be constantly conducted, international courses and programs should be set up and more overseas students should be enrolled to realize university internationalization.

Prof. SONG Xuefeng, president of China University of Mining and Technology, made a keynote speech entitled "Stronger, Better and Newer: build a world first-class university featuring energy and resources". He holds that facing the challenges of the new century, CUMT should shift the focus of its work from coal mining to development of energy and natural resources. He introduced three stages of CUMT objective and emphasized that CUMT should attach great importance to nurturing talents, advance the integration of disciplines and enhance international cooperation andexchanges.

Prof. Hai-sui Yu, deeputy vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds and fellow of British Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, made a keynote speech on " Research Collaboration between Universities and Business: A University Perspective". By the case of research collaboration between the University of Leeds and business, he introduced the driving forces, advantages and challenges of the collaboration and his suggestions on how to face challenges.

12 more presidents and professors also gave talks on specific sub-topics, who are from various universities, including Lambung Mankurat University and Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta in Indonesia;  Changzhou University in China, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology in Vietnam; , University of Kentucky  and West Virginia University in the US; University of Pécs in Hungary; St. Petersburg Mining University and Ural State Mining University in Russia； University of Wollongong  in Australia, University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, AGH University of Science and Technology in Poland; Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland.

China Foreign University President Forum is one of the major events for CUMT 110th anniversary celebrations. The forum consists of five subtopics, including "Modernization of University Governance", "Strategic Development for Internationalization", "Innovative Talents Cultivation, "Scientific Innovation and Social Service" and "Cross-boundary Disciplinary Integration ", which covers major functions and key issues of Higher Education development.