Participants at the World University Leadership Summit yesterday. Courtesy of CUHK-Shenzhen
Participants of the World University Leadership Summit held yesterday in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) in Longgang District underscored the critical importance of strengthening collaboration between universities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and global academic institutions.
A total of 27 presidents or representatives from 18 universities in 10 countries and regions attended the summit. The primary focus of their discussions centered on augmenting university collaboration and propelling advancements in global higher education.
Pradeep K Khosla, chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, believed that the future of workforce in the world is going to be a dynamic workforce with high mobility.
Through cooperation, the workforce will be educated in multiple different countries and that's why the collaboration between GBA universities and global institutions is important, according to Khosla.
"It's important that American students and European students get a chance to come study here (China) and vice versa. Students from here get a chance to go study in the U.S., which has happened already. So we need the other way around with more Chinese students going to the U.S.," Khosla said in an interview yesterday.
Xu Yangsheng, president of CUHK-Shenzhen, echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the crucial role of international cooperation in the GBA. He highlighted that cutting-edge innovation in education and scientific research necessitates collaboration among universities, research institutes, and industries.
Sandra Almeida, rector of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, stressed the importance of considering various possibilities in collaboration, not limited to teaching and research but also extending to community activities.
"We have to work on the kind of collaboration that is committed to regional international development and socioeconomic development," Almeida asserted.
The summit was jointly hosted by CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen.