On November 27, 2024, the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (ICEE) 2024 Governing Board and Advisory Board Meeting was successfully held in a combined online and offline format. The meeting was chaired by Wu Qidi, Director of ICEE, and attended by Yang Bin, Executive Director of ICEE and Vice-President of Tsinghua University, and Lidia Arthur Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences of UNESCO (represented by Hu Shaofeng, Director of the Division of Science Policy and Basic Sciences, Natural Sciences Sector UNESCO), who made addresses.The members of the Governing Board and Advisory Board and representatives of other institutions participated in the meeting.

Chaired by Wu Qidi

Speech by Hu Shaofeng

Hu Shaofeng said that ICEE's contribution to UNESCO is significant and plays an indispensable role in several strategic dimensions, especially in promoting international symposia on women, science and technology, and problem-oriented solutions. He expressed his appreciation for ICEE's educational assistance in Africa and the results of its cooperation with XuetangX. Looking to the future, Hu Shaofeng emphasized the importance of engineering education, referred to the process of renewing the cooperation agreement with both parties, and looked forward to ICEE playing a greater role in the initiative of International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD). UNESCO is committed to the promotion of sustainable development and invites ICEE to participate in the series of celebrations of “World Engineering Day” on March 4, 2025, at its headquarters in Paris, to witness and contribute to the process of global sustainable development. 

Speech by Yang Bin

In his speech, Yang Bin said that ICEE operates efficiently at Tsinghua University with the strong support of UNESCO and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and with the help of the members of the Governing Board and Advisory Board. Since its establishment, the Centre has taken the initiative to serve UNESCO's strategic priorities, actively promote the quality development of engineering education, and made significant progress in consulting and research, capacity building and international exchange. The reform of engineering education at Tsinghua University has provided the ground for the development of ICEE. The university has released a series of strategic plans to promote the reform of the academy system and to create a new mechanism, a new model and a new platform for the cultivation of engineering and scientific talents. The future of engineering education needs to focus on interdisciplinary training, engineering ethics education, innovative capacity development and deep international cooperation. ICEE is willing to join hands with international engineering education colleagues to build a community of engineering education that is equal, inclusive, developing and win-win, and to contribute to the cultivation of innovative talents, the enhancement of public well-being and the promotion of sustainable development.

Report on the work of Yuan Si

Yuan Si, Executive Director of ICEE and Former Vice President of Tsinghua University, delivered the annual work report. The report reviews the successful accomplishments of the Centre since its establishment, with the support of UNESCO, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tsinghua University, as well as the members of the Governing Board and Advisory Board, global partners and experts, and outlines the priorities for 2024. The consulting and research work of the Centre focuses on the major issues of national engineering education reform and international engineering education development, laying a solid foundation for the construction of a high-end think tank in the field of engineering education. In recent years, ICEE has undertaken nearly 50 strategic research and consulting projects, submitted more than 30 policy consulting reports to relevant departments, and planned and published more than 30 monographs. He emphasized ICEE's achievements in educational initiatives, including cooperative projects with XuetangX, China Harbor company, and the Future Science Education Development Base. ICEE uses academic activities as a bridge to organize large-scale international conferences, which enhances the centre's international influence. Strengthened cooperation with international organizations, hosted multinational delegations, and presented results at the annual meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to build a global engineering education community.
Looking ahead to 2025, Yuan presented ICEE's work plan, which includes consulting and research, academic conferences, education and training, and international cooperation, as well as UNESCO's evaluation work. He emphasized that ICEE will continue to work to build an equal, inclusive, developmental, and win-win environment for engineering education and looks forward to the support of its global partners to achieve its strategic goals. He concluded by expressing his gratitude to all the individuals and organizations that have supported ICEE.

Wang Shuaiguo made a work report of ICEE Online Education Base

Zhang Xiaoqiang made a work report of ICEE Global Leadership Development Base

In the work report session, representatives of ICEE global partners reported on their work. Wang Shuaiguo, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education’s Online Education Research Center, President of XuetangX;Zhang Xiaoqiang, General Manager of China Harbor Engineering Company Limited, representedthe Online Education Base and the  Global Leadership Development base respectively made a report on its work since their inception.

Concluding remarks by Edward F. Crawley

Edward F. Crawley, Co-chairperson of the Advisory Board of ICEE, Professor at MIT, emphasized in his concluding remarks at the meeting that the ICEE has made a significant contribution to the regionalization of engineering education and international cooperation on a global scale, and its influence should be more widely recognized. In particular, he mentioned that the English-language journal Engineering Education Review (EER) will be a key driver of ICEE's rapid growth. Crawley suggested that ICEE should further strengthen its collaboration with other UNESCO category 2 centers to deepen its understanding and focus on the SDGs and to conduct in-depth research in the field of artificial intelligence. He emphasized the critical importance of working hand-in-hand with partners to advance engineering education and encouraged ICEE to explore deeper in the area of integration of engineering education and the arts. Crawley recognized ICEE's achievements over the past year and expressed his expectations for the future. 

Finally, the Governing Board reviewed and adopted the ICEE 2024 Annual Work Report and 2025 Work Plan. The Governing Board and Advisory Board members, as well as special guests, also made positive and constructive comments on the future development of ICEE. This is the eighth annual meeting of the ICEE Governing Board and Advisory Board since 2017.

Online group photo

The following members of the Governing Board and the Advisory Board participated in the meeting: Qin Changwei, Secretary-General of the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO; Gong Ke, Former President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO);, Hideaki Koizumi, Former Executive Vice President of the Engineering Academy of Japan (EAJ);Hans J. Hoyer, Secretary General of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES);Tian Hongqi, Former President of Central South University (CSU), Former Vice President of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE);Anette Kolmos, Former Director Aolborg Centre for Problem-Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability (UCPBL), (represented by UCPBL Director Du Xiangyun); Robert Pullen, former President of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE), and Yashin Brijmohan, Former Vice President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO). 

Also attending the meeting were Liu Chang, Director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Engineering;  Wang Xiaojun, Researcher of the Education Department of the Chinese Academy of Engineering;Wang Sunyu, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of ICEE, and Institute of Education, Tsinghua University; Wang Shuaiguo, President of XuetangX; Zhang Xiaoqiang, General Manager of China Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd;Li Haiquan, head of the Human Resources Department, and Shi Zhongqiang, Deputy Manager of the Human Resources Department of CHEC; Lou Xia, Managing Director of Huahe Cultural; Liu Binli, Head of ICEE Future Science and Technology Education Base; Wang Qun, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Management Committee of the Special Fund for the Institute of Science, Education and National Strategy China Overseas Educated Talents Development Foundation, and Wu Di, Director of Beijing Huan Yu Ballet Art Center.