On May 27, 2024, China International Cooperation Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CICASME) visited the International Centre for Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO (ICEE) and held a meeting. The event was attended by WANG Kejie, Deputy Secretary-General of CICASME, ZHANG Ranran, Secretary-General of the Intelligent Manufacturing Industry-University-Research-Application Working Committee of CICASME, HONG Xia, Vice Director of the International Department of CICASME, WANG Sunyu, Deputy Director and Secretary General of ICEE and a professor of the Institute of Education, Tsinghua University, QIAO Weifeng, Assistant to Secretary-General and Associate Professor of Research of ICEE, and SHEN Ye, Assistant to Secretary-General of ICEE and Secretary-General of the Global Partnership Board of ICEE.

WANG Sunyu welcomed WANG Kejie and his entourage. He hoped that ICEE would cooperate with CICASME in the cultivation of international talents in the field of engineering education. As an academic organization, ICEE will actively provide strong academic support for cultivating international talents that meet the needs of enterprises.

QIAO Weifeng introduced ICEE’s work in consultation and research, educational actions and international exchanges since its establishment. He said that based on long-term academic accumulation and research results, ICEE submitted policy research reports and consulting reports to relevant national departments, deeply participated in the compilation of the UNESCO Engineering Report II, the revision of the Graduate Attributes and Professional Competencies (GAPC) and other work that has international academic influence, and held a number of important international academic activities such as the International Forum on Engineering Education. Besides, it has continuously strengthened extensive cooperation with international organizations, and actively promoted the development of a global engineering education community.

WANG Kejie introduced the “Sailing Program” of the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. He said that China’s vocational education, such as higher vocational colleges, urgently needs to be in line with international standards. At present, China’s small and medium-sized enterprises are facing a shortage of talent when they set up factories overseas. Therefore, education should go global with the industry, focus on the Belt and Road Initiative, and cultivate talents who can adapt to different countries and industries as well as local talents who meet the standards. He hoped that CICASME could promote the connection between domestic universities and enterprises, and help enterprises better cope with the challenges in the process of going global.

ZHANG Ranran mentioned in her speech that over the years, the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development has been committed to promoting the international development of SMEs, and serving SMEs in human resources research and industry-education integration, etc., laying the foundation for the “Sailing Program”. The Program includes six tasks, namely talent demand surveys for international development of enterprises and research on talent training policies, supply and demand matching services, standards and talent certification systems, talent training services, talent training carriers and announcement resource service platforms. The last three tasks needs be led by universities and completed in coordination with the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development.

SHEN Ye introduced ICEE’s work in cultivating engineering and technology talents with its partners. She said that through cooperation with global and project partners, ICEE has developed engineering talent training standards and endorsed engineering talents who meet the standards to promote the international recognition of Chinese engineering talents. It has made efforts to apply and promote China’s engineering talent training standards in the world, such as the local talent training program of ICEE’s Base of Global Leadership Development that relies on major overseas engineering projects, the international engineering education training program for young engineers that is being conducted by the ICEE Base of Future Science and Technology Education, and the research project on the education and development of excellent engineers from an international perspective jointly implemented by ICEE and the COSDF Special Fund for the Research Institute of China’s Science, Technology and Education Policy.

LI Chao of the Global Partnership Board of ICEE and ICEE’s postdoctoral fellows HE Shiyu and TAO Jinhu also attended the meeting.

Founded in 1990, China International Cooperation Association of SMEs (CICASME) is the first national social organization for small and medium-sized enterprises in China. It is co-located and works closely with China Centre for Promotion of SME Development, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. CICASME boasts more than 30,000 members, and has established substantive cooperative relations with business associations in more than 30 countries (regions) around the world.