ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½

From 21 to 24 May, the 11th Annual Conference on Innovation in Higher Education and the final of the 11th ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ National University Teaching Innovation Competition were held at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Themed ¡°Higher Education towards 2046: From Knowledge Transmission to Value Creation¡±, the conference marked ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½¡¯s 20th anniversary and brought together university leaders, educators, researchers, and industry partners to explore the future of higher education, drawing more than 400 on-site participants.

Towards 2046

In her opening remarks, Yu Wang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Taicang Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor of Taicang Municipal Government, described ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Entrepreneur College (Taicang) as a two-way partnership between the University and the city. She noted that ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½¡¯s integrated ecosystem ¨C connecting industry, academia, research, government, and society ¨C represents an active response to the future of universities and new models of talent cultivation, and affirmed that Taicang will continue supporting ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ through application scenarios, policy support, and infrastructure for educational innovation.

Yu Wang

Professor Liqun Zhang, President of Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that higher education will be one of the key variables shaping global development over the next two decades. With AI deepening, global innovation competition intensifying, and industrial structures shifting rapidly, traditional education systems centred on knowledge transmission and standardised training can no longer meet the demand for diverse, innovative talent.

Professor Liqun Zhang

¡°The most important mission of future universities is not to reproduce knowledge, but to create value.¡± Professor Zhang called for a shift from discipline-based to problem-oriented education ¨C organising learning around real-world challenges such as climate change, AI ethics, the energy transition, and global health, with industries and society becoming the sites of learning. He also emphasised that Chinese universities should not simply follow global trends, but lead in their respective fields while serving national missions, regional development, and international engagement.

From a global perspective, Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, noted that universities play an increasingly important role in cultivating ¡°global citizens¡± as worldwide connectivity grows. Over the past 20 years, more than 17,000 ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ students have studied in the UK, gaining distinctive advantages through cross-cultural experience. On AI¡¯s impact, Professor Jones was clear: AI will not diminish higher education¡¯s importance ¨C it will increase society¡¯s demand for human intelligence and higher-level capabilities. Critical thinking, creativity, and contextual judgement remain central to what universities must develop.

Professor Tim Jones

ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½¡¯s evolving model

During the past two decades, ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ has progressively refined its approach to future-oriented talent cultivation. Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½, outlined the University¡¯s evolution: from ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ 1.0 (professional elites with industry backgrounds), through 2.0 (industry elites with disciplinary foundations) and 3.0 (co-creating an industrial innovation ecosystem), to ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ 4.0 ¨C exploring a ¡°future learning and innovative social ecosystem in the digital and intelligent era¡±.

Professor Xi described future universities as no longer confined to traditional campuses, but built around educational philosophy and brand, supported by digital platforms, global knowledge networks, and distributed centres of excellence ¨C forming a socialised, ecological, personalised, and lifelong learning ecosystem. ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½¡¯s next stage will continue connecting education, technology, industry, government, and society to create a cycle from talent cultivation and technology transfer to social development.

Professor Youmin Xi

From concept to classroom

During the conference, three new books were launched: Syntegrative Wisdom: Shaping the Future of Education; Syntegrative Education: A New Model for Future Education; and Self-Awakening: Meaning-Making in Teaching Innovation. Together, they document ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½¡¯s two decades of exploration in future education and teaching innovation.

From left: Professor Stuart Perrin, Chief Officer of Ecology; Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President; and Feifei Zhu, Operations Director for Education

The conference also featured a roundtable forum on Syntegrative Education, bringing together perspectives from educational philosophy, classroom practice, and student experience to explore how the model is being implemented at ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Entrepreneur College (Taicang).

From left: Dr Yunlu Zhang, Director of Industry Executive Education at the Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Hub; Professor Xiaojun Zhang, Chief Officer of Education; Dr Qiong Ji, Associate Professor at the School of Intelligent Finance and Business; and Junqin Ma, an MSc Digital Business student

The concurrent final of the 11th ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ National University Teaching Innovation Competition saw 49 teams from 56 universities across China present work on curriculum design, teaching innovation, and learning experience, continuing the search for future-oriented pathways in talent cultivation. Parallel workshops and forums explored themes including real-world-driven learning, Syntegrative Education, and innovation and entrepreneurship education.

The 9th Council Congress of the Association of Sustainable Faculty Development in Higher Education (ASFDHE) was also held during the same period.

The conference was hosted by ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½, organised by the Institute of Leadership and Education Advanced Development (ILEAD), and supported by the Beijing office of Macao Tong Chai Charity Association and ASFDHE.

By Xiaoyan Jin

Translated by Xiangyin Han

Edited by Xinmin Han