China-EU university presidents' dialogue advances education in AI era

Leaders from 45 universities across China and Europe gathered at Tongji University in Shanghai on Friday for the 2025 China-EU university presidents' dialogue, focusing on engineering education and global cooperation in the age of intelligence.

The dialogue, a follow-up to last December's meeting in Madrid, Spain, brought together presidents and vice-presidents from 30 European and 15 Chinese institutions, along with industry representatives and renowned scholars from countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Sweden.

In a video address, Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng highlighted the significance of the dialogue coinciding with the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations. "Global development faces profound changes, giving universities new missions and responsibilities," Huai said. "Educational exchange and cooperation are more crucial than ever, and excellent universities should serve as vital forces in bridging borders, resolving differences, and promoting development."

Zheng Qinghua, Party secretary of Tongji University, noted that amid the current technological revolution, particularly AI's rapid evolution, global higher education faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Zheng called for Chinese and European universities to build a more open and efficient collaborative network ecosystem to achieve a multiplier effect in talent development and research innovation.

Kai Sicks, secretary-general of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, emphasized how AI is reshaping the global economy, society, and higher education landscape. He stressed that addressing major global challenges requires strengthened international collaboration and extensive exchanges.

The meeting produced the Tongji declaration on shaping engineering education and global cooperation in the intelligent era. The declaration outlines three key commitments: embracing intelligence through new AI-integrated educational paradigms; fostering innovation by dismantling traditional engineering education barriers and strengthening industry-education integration; and promoting international cooperation through student exchanges, faculty appointments, joint programs, and collaborative research.

During the first thematic forum focusing on reshaping international higher education in the AI era, Tongji University President Yang Jinlong detailed the institution's comprehensive approach to AI-driven talent cultivation.

The university has established future medical classes and cross-departmental interdisciplinary resource systems, while developing AI-related courses and implementing a sophisticated AI talent training framework, according to Yang.

The dialogue's second forum addressed cross-border Integration and global network building in engineering education. Shanghai Jiao Tong University President Ding Kuiling shared their experience in integrating industry needs into engineering education, highlighting partnerships with over 20 university-enterprise joint training bases and 45 training units.

Karl Dearn, dean of the faculty of engineering at the University of Birmingham, emphasized the importance of international collaboration in addressing global challenges. "No single country or institution can solve these challenges alone," Dearn said. "Engineering education must prepare students not only with technical expertise but also with confidence, creativity, and the ability to work across disciplines."