On September 22, the China-Africa University Presidents Forum on Frontiers of Education Development opened in Changsha, under the theme of "Co-creating a Smart Future: China-Africa Higher Education Cooperation and Innovative Development." Hosted by Hunan University, the forum attracted representatives from 15 universities across 13 African countries, including the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Nairobi, as well as relevant officials from the Foreign Affairs Office of the Hunan Provincial People's Government, the Department of Science and Technology of Hunan Province, and the Department of Education of Hunan Province.

At the opening ceremony, Jiang Chao, vice president of Hunan University, noted that this year marks the 1050th anniversary of the founding of Yuelu Academy and the 100th anniversary of the naming of Hunan University. The university has carried forward the academy spirit of seeking truth from facts. Leveraging platforms such as the Institute of African Studies and the Intelligent Lab for China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, the university has achieved outstanding practical achievements in regional and country studies of Africa, the training of international students in China, and two-way youth exchanges between China and Africa. Cooperation in higher education serves as a vital spiritual bond for the China-Africa community with a shared future. Vice President Jiang expressed the hope that the participants will uphold the principle of equality and mutual learning, carry out joint research in key areas such as digital technology, healthcare, engineering, and economy and trade, strengthen local talent cultivation, and turn the consensus reached at the forum into real tangible results.

The "Initiative for the Establishment of the China-Africa Consortium of Universities for Digital Development" was released at the event. The initiative upholds the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and focuses on six key directions: building a digital higher education collaboration community, conducting forward-looking joint research, promoting mutual learning among civilizations, cultivating internationally minded digital talent, advancing industry-academia-research cooperation, and improving  open and collaborative operating mechanisms. It calls on universities in China and Africa to break down institutional barriers and geographical boundaries, coordinate and pool various resources from education, scientific research, and industry, focus on bridging the digital divide, jointly explore paths to modernization for countries in the Global South, and contribute to the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future through practical achievements in higher education. A signing ceremony for cooperation between Hunan University and African universities was held to further expand inter-university practical cooperation.

The forum set up three parallel forums for thematic discussions, including "Digital Intelligence Empowerment, China and Africa Connectivity—Bridging the Digital Divide and Deepening China-Africa Digital Development Cooperation," "Converging Wisdom in Life, Driving the Future with Digitalization: Interdisciplinary Innovation and Sustainable Development in China-Africa Biological Sciences," and "Innovation, Cooperation, and Win-Win: China-Africa Smart Healthcare."

During the forum, the participants were scheduled to conduct field visits in Changsha and Yueyang, visiting university research platforms, enterprises engaging in construction machinery and medical technology, and the China-Africa industry-education integration demonstration base, to gain firsthand insight into Hunan's industry-academia-research collaborative innovation practices.

The forum has been listed as one of the signature events of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. With the release of the initiative and the signing of inter-university agreements serving as a new starting point, it is hoped that this forum will propel cooperation between Chinese and African universities into a new stage of systematic and sustainable development. Looking ahead, all parties will continue to expand pragmatic cooperation in areas such as digital education, joint scientific research, two-way youth exchanges, and industry-education integration, pooling the strengths of universities to contribute their wisdom to the modernization that China and Africa jointly advance.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: People's Daily