The 9th Korean - Chinese University Presidential Forum was held in Korea from September 28 to 30. More than 40 presidents and representatives from over 30 colleges and universities both in South Korea and China participated in the forum and discussed “The 4th Industrial Revolution and the Functions of Colleges and Universities”. Hu Wenping, Vice President of Tianjin University, attended the meeting and made a keynote speech.

In his speech, “The Innovative Engineering Construction During the 4th Industrial Revolution: A Case Study of Tianjin University”, he shared the experience of Tianjin University with attendants on the following three themes: the impact of the 4th industrial revolution on higher engineering education, the exploration and practice of Tianjin University’s innovative engineering, and international cooperation and innovative engineering construction. In addition, he outlined the experience and methods of Tianjin University in terms of the merging of disciplines, talent training and international cooperation, such as the Co-Innovation Center of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Tianjin at Tianjin University, the Tianjin International Engineering Institute, and the Georgia Tech Tianjin University Shenzhen Institute. On behalf of Tianjin University, Hu expressed a willingness to strengthen cooperation with Korean colleges and universities. During the forum, he had further discussions on scientific research cooperation and joint training of students with representatives from Hanyang University and Korea University and reached a consensus with them.

The Korean - Chinese University Presidential Forum aims at promoting Korean-Chinese cultural exchange and strengthening substantial communication and cooperation between Korean and Chinese colleges and universities. It has been successfully held eight times since 2007, and has become an excellent communication platform for colleges and universities of the two countries. At the forum, representatives of both sides made in-depth exchanges on three themes: “the 4th Industrial Revolution and Future Talent”, “the 4th Industrial Revolution and Future Education”, and “the 4th Industrial Revolution and Future Occupation”.  Sixteen Chinese colleges and universities including Tianjin University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and the Renmin University of China and fifteen Korean colleges and universities including Korea University, Hanyang University, Chung-Ang University, and Sogang University participated in the forum.

 Editors: Yin Shiyu and Ross Colquhoun