On May 17 to 18, 2021, the two-days' Sino-French Workshop on Higher Engineering Education, co-sponsored by Beihang University and Groupe des Ecoles Centrales and organized by Hangzhou Innovation Institute and the Sino-French Engineering School of Beihang University, was successfully convened in Yuhang District of Hangzhou.
The workshop was held both online and offline simultaneously and consisted of one main forum and two sub-forums. Higher education professionals from China and France were invited to discuss the new goals, new connotations, new models, and new mechanisms of higher engineering education in the new era, aiming to further deepen the practical cooperation between China and France and add new impetus to the educational cooperation between the two countries.
The main forum was held on May 17 and hosted by Huang Haijun, vice president of Beihang University, and Ma Jinxi, director of the Beihang Sino-French Cooperative School-Running Office (Hangzhou). Mei Jiansheng, member of the standing committee and deputy head of Yuhang District, welcomed the guests and briefed them on Yuhang's advantages in education, science and technology, and industrial innovation. Tian Lulu, deputy secretary general of China Scholarship Council, said in her speech that China and France have extensive cooperation in the field of engineering education. As a pioneer and a model in Sino-French education cooperation, Beihang University has rich practical experience in training high-level international general engineers. Academician Gérard Creuzet, president of the International Campus of the Groupe des Ecoles Centrales, pointed out that Groupe des Ecoles Centrales is actively exploring the future model and mechanism of engineering education, and will work with Beihang University to jointly promote the cultivation of international engineers.
Academician Xu Huibin, president of Beihang University, delivered a keynote report titled “Challenge, Reform and Leadership: Practice, Exploration and Thinking of Higher Engineering Education at Beihang University.” In his report, he elaborated on the new challenges and opportunities brought by the engineering technology and introduced the reform and innoation of Beihang's talent training mode.
Other attendees including Romain Soubeyran, president of CentraleSupélec, Elisabeth Crépon, president of Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur (CTI), Hervé Biausser, former president of CentraleSupélec, Jean-Baptiste Avrillier, director of Centrale Nantes, Jin Baosheng, vice president of Southeastern University, etc., also reported on innovative talent training mode, internationalization strategy of the university, international standard for certification of engineers and other aspects.
At the sub-forums on May 18, presidents and secretaries of the Chinese and French cooperative educational institutions shared their explorations and experience in the process of running schools, and had a profound discussion on the development and evolution of the engineering talent training program. Experts from famous universities and research institutions, such as Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, École Polytechnique and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, also gave incisive reports on topics like engineering education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Reported by Yin Chuantao
Reviewed by Zhang Jiang
Edited by Jia Aiping
Translated by Zheng Quan
