On March 3, 2026, Ms. Elizabeth Colucci, Director of Gobal Project at OBREAL, along with Dr. Zhao Yuchi, Executive Director of the UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (UNESCO INRULED) at Beijing Normal University, and project coordinator Niu Xinyi, visited Tsinghua University to conduct international project cooperation and exchange activities with the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (ICEE). Professor Wang Sunyu, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of ICEE and professor of the School of Education at Tsinghua University, Dr. Xu Lihui, Assistant to Secretary-General of ICEE, and Dr. Tao Hongyi, postdoctoral researcher at the School of Education of Tsinghua University, attended the event.

Professor Wang Sunyu extended a warm welcome to Ms. Elizabeth Colucci and her delegation. He noted that ICEE, as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre co-established by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is dedicated to strategic consulting research in engineering education, the cultivation of engineering and technological talent, and international cooperation and exchange. He expressed hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to deepen international cooperation in engineering education by leveraging OBREAL's networks in the European Union and Latin America.

Dr. Xu Lihui provided a detailed overview of ICEE's work and achievements in recent years. Since the Centre's establishment, it has built an international reputation in the field of global engineering education through substantive collaboration with international organizations. He expressed the hope of partnering with more global partners to jointly build an equitable, inclusive, development-oriented, and mutually beneficial global engineering education community.

Ms. Elizabeth Colucci expressed her gratitude for ICEE's warm reception. As an important platform for promoting cross-regional educational dialogue between the Global North and South, OBREAL has established partnerships with over 500 government agencies, universities, and international organizations across more than 80 countries, and maintains close collaboration with the African Union Commission, the European Union, UNESCO, and other bodies. OBREAL places great importance on cooperation with Chinese educational institutions, and looks forward to engaging in deep collaboration with ICEE across multiple areas to jointly advance global educational equity and sustainable development.

Dr. Zhao Yuchi noted that both parties share a common vision and goals in the fields of higher education and regional development, and that they could carry out joint international cooperation in areas such as academic research, talent cultivation, and capacity building through events such as the Cairo Dialogue High-Level Meeting. He emphasized the importance of integrating Chinese experience with the development needs of Latin America and Africa to implement the Global Development Initiative and collectively address global challenges such as educational equity and the digital divide.

This exchange activity established a strong bridge for cooperation and communication between the two sides. By leveraging their respective professional strengths and platform resources, the collaboration holds significant importance for advancing cross-regional cooperation in international engineering education and supporting the sustainable development of global higher education.

OBREAL (Observatorio de las Relaciones Unión Europea América Latina) is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, and is a knowledge-based institution dedicated to promoting multi-regional cooperation among the European Union, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. With "driving social transformation through cross-regional dialogue" as its core mission, the organization focuses on policy coordination and capacity building in the fields of education, research, innovation, and sustainable development, and has built a systematic cooperative network connecting universities, governments, and international organizations across countries of the Global South and North.