On April 11, the 12-Countries, 12-Universities International Symposium, hosted by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (NJUPT), was held in the auditorium of the National Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics on Xianlin Campus. Attendees included Qian Wenhua, member of the Party Leadership Group of the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and Vice President of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Cui Chunxia, Second-Level Inspector of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education; as well as NJUPT Party Secretary Guo Yuxiang and President Ye Meilan, who delivered speeches. Representatives from the Four Posts and Four Electronics brother universities attended as special guests, along with presidents and delegates from 12 universities across 12 countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, and Belarus. Liu Qingshan, Standing Committee Member of the University Party Committee and Vice President, presided over the meeting.
NJUPT Hosted 12-Countries 12-Universities International Symposium
President Ye Meilan delivered a welcome speech, introducing NJUPT as a national Double First-Class university with a long history, rich cultural heritage, and distinctive information technology characteristics. Renowned as “the Cradle of IT Talents in China”, the university has cultivated over 280,000 outstanding professionals through its integrated discipline innovation system covering information materials, information devices, information systems, information networks, and information applications. In advancing educational openness and internationalization, NJUPT actively promotes global exchanges and cooperation as one of the first academic members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It has established partnerships with multiple world-class universities and launched over 100 international exchange programs, dedicated to nurturing high-quality, globally-minded innovative talents. She expressed hope that the 12 Countries, 12 Universities International Alliance would serve as a bridge for communication between member institutions and the Four Posts and Four Electronics universities, fostering comprehensive, in-depth, and high-level collaboration. This initiative aims to advance educational cooperation from physical connectivity to digital-intelligent integration and transform international collaboration from resource exchange to digital-intelligent symbiosis, ensuring the alliance thrives and achieves fruitful outcomes.
President Ye Meilan deliveredher welcome speech
In his speech, Qian Wenhua, Vice President of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, highlighted that Jiangsu’s deep cooperation with various countries and regions in education has enhanced the internationalization and global influence of its higher education. The gathering of 12 universities from 12 countries, each with unique cultural and academic traditions, will further promote multicultural exchange and integration. He proposed that the alliance should become a hub for knowledge innovation, integrating academic resources to tackle global research challenges and provide intellectual support for societal progress. Additionally, he hoped the alliance would serve as a new platform for talent cultivation through faculty and student exchanges, joint training programs, and academic competitions to enhance cross-cultural communication and teamwork. Lastly, he envisioned the alliance as a vital cultural bridge, fostering mutual understanding and trust among participants by deepening awareness of each other’s traditions, customs, and values, thereby creating a favorable atmosphere for international friendship and cooperation.
Vice President Qian Wenhua delivered his speech
Cui Chunxia, Second-Level Inspector of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, stated that the establishment of the 12 Countries, 12 Universities International Alliance is a proactive response to China’s strategy of deepening educational openness and an innovative effort to strengthen people-to-people exchanges under the Belt and Road Initiative while supporting the China-ASEAN innovation community. She urged alliance members to align strategically, integrating the alliance into national cooperation frameworks such as China-ASEAN educational collaboration and China-Europe innovation partnerships. Emphasizing innovation, she suggested leveraging Jiangsu’s strengths in the digital economy to establish international joint laboratories and tackle challenges like quantum communication. She also stressed the importance of cultural foundations, proposing innovations such as credit recognition and international industry-academia-research bases to enrich the “Study in Jiangsu” brand.
Second-Level Inspector Cui Chunxia delivered her speech
During the meeting, representatives from the alliance universities signed the 12 Countries, 12 Universities International Alliance Agreement. The alliance’s establishment will help break geographical barriers, facilitate the flow and integration of educational resources among universities worldwide, and enhance the quality and efficiency of global higher education.
Representatives signed the alliance agreement.
The afternoon session focused on the theme “AI-Empowered Higher Education Cooperation”. Party Secretary Guo Yuxiang presented a keynote speech titled “AI-Empowered International Collaboration in Higher Education: Building a New Open-Education Paradigm for the New Era”. He emphasized that in the context of global educational transformation, strengthening international cooperation and technological innovation will effectively address the challenges of the intelligent era, upgrade teaching models, research collaboration, and international partnerships, and inject new vitality into the sustainable development of global education. He underscored the strategic importance of AI in higher education internationalization, explored practical pathways for AI to reshape higher education ecosystems, and advocated for open sharing to deepen the integration of AI and global collaboration, offering fresh insights into AI-empowered international higher education.
Party Secretary Guo Yuxiang delivered his keynote speech
Parallel forums were held to discuss the alliance’s development strategy and exchanges among the Four Posts and Four Electronics universities, focusing on critical topics such as sustainable university development, digital transformation in education, and the “Nanjing Action” plan for global educational outreach.
Alliance members engaged in discussions
(Author: Zhu Zhiya; Photographers: Yin Jie, Yang Luyuan, Chen Yannan, Duan Haoyan; Initial Review: Wang Haiyan; Editor: Wang Cunhong; Final Review: Zhang Feng)
