YNU hosts meeting of university alliance secretariats

Participants of the first meeting on the consultation mechanism of the university alliance secretariats pose for a group photo. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

The first meeting on the consultation mechanism of the university alliance secretariats initiated by Yunnan University (YNU), the secretariat unit of the the South & Southeast Asian University Network (S&SE ASIAN UN), was held on Oct 30.

Representatives of 14 university or think tank alliance secretariats participated in the meeting, which was themed around "Opportunities and Deeds in the 'Two Constructions' of the University Alliances in the New Era."

Professor Li Chenyang, executive secretary-general of S&SE ASIAN UN and vice-president of YNU, said that accelerating and expanding international cooperation and exchanges is one of the missions of universities under the complex international and domestic situation. In the fuure, international cooperation and exchanges need to rely on new platforms, find new paths, as well as create new models. University alliances have a great influence on social services, public product provision, talent training, scientific research, and public diplomacy.

Participating experts shared their own practices and thoughts on how to make better use of platform building, educational exchanges, as well as people-to-people relationships among university alliances.

At the meeting, participants agreed to establish an annual consultation mechanism to discuss the development ideas of the alliance, jointly build an educational cooperation platform, and share information on the development of the alliance to make greater contributions to the construction of the educational community, as well as to bolster people-to-people relationships.

The participating experts also demonstrated the Four-year Development Plan for the South Asia and Southeast Asia University Alliance drafted by YNU, as well as put forward suggestions for the future development of S&SE ASIAN UN.