The First Global Entrepreneurship Forum for College Students was held in Chongqing on April 9, 2023. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of the Ministry of Education, showed up at the event and delivered a keynote speech under the title "Making concerted efforts to promote high-quality development of innovation and entrepreneurship of college students". Qu Xing, Deputy Secretary-General of UNESCO, and Hu Henghua, Mayor of Chongqing, delivered speeches. Wu Yan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, announced the "Chongqing Initiative" of the Global Entrepreneurship Forum for College Students. The Forum was chaired by Wang Shuxin, President of Chongqing University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Huai Jinpeng said that young students are full of imagination and creativity and they are the fresh troops of innovation and entrepreneurship. In recent years, we have worked out a development road of innovation and entrepreneurship with Chinese characteristics for college students, made efforts to build a new mode of innovative talent nurturing of higher education, and promote the integrated development of knowledge innovation and technical innovation. The multiplier effect of entrepreneurship in promoting employment is becoming increasingly prominent. Moreover, efforts have been concentrated on serving high-quality eco-social development to create a new pattern of education serving poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. Huai called for constant efforts to build practice platforms for innovation and entrepreneurship of college students, encourage colleges and universities across the world to co-build communication and cooperation platforms for innovation and entrepreneurship, and secure policy support and system guarantee for innovation and entrepreneurship of college students. According to Huai, China will make efforts to expedite the construction of the high-quality innovation and entrepreneurship education system, further implement the integration of production and education and the integration of science and education, and build a better environment and ecology for innovation and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, China will continue to hold the China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and provide a stage for extensive exchange, cooperation and exhibition of college students from all over the world.
In his speech, Qu Xing called upon all countries in the world to promote the idea of innovation and entrepreneurship. He expressed his hope that the college students in the world would bolster global development through entrepreneurship, demonstrate their young blood by contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and write a new chapter of solidarity and cooperation among the youth of the world.
Hu Henghua pointed out in his speech that it is the bounden duty of contemporary college students to get involved in innovation and entrepreneurship and promote the development of humans and peace. A country should care for its college students, provide policy guarantees and resource support for the innovation and entrepreneurship of college students, and build a favorable ecology for the innovation and entrepreneurship of college students.
Wu Yan announced the Uniting Global College Students to Create a Future-"Chongqing Initiative", and put forward a proposal for the countries, colleges, universities, and all college students to deepen the innovation and entrepreneurship education and reform with innovation, devote themselves to innovation and entrepreneurship with unremitting willpower and co-build a win-win future with monolithic solidarity. Wu called for college students from all over the world to work together, go beyond the limits, rebuild themselves, forge ahead, contribute to global development with their young blood, and co-build a better future for mankind.
At the Forum, 9 representatives from home and abroad delivered speeches on deepening the reform of education on innovation and entrepreneurship and improving students' ability of entrepreneurship and innovation. These representatives include Tan Eng Chye, President of the National University of Singapore, Janet Beer, former President of Liverpool University, Zhang Jun, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Beijing Institute of Technology and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Wu Xiaobo, Director of the Faculty of Social Science of Zhejiang University, Ryan Coulson, the champion of the 7th Competition from Carnegie Mellon University, Bai Yunfeng, the champion of the 3rd Competition and Chairman of Zhejiang Genius Pros, William ORBELL, the runner-up of the 7th Competition from the University of Oxford, Li Jingyang, the champion of the 5th Competition, Dean of the School of Aerospace Engineering of the North University of China, and Chairman of Beijing Qinghang Zijing Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., and Li Zexiang, a professor of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the founder of XbotPark
It is reported that the First Global Entrepreneurship Forum for College Students was held in synchronization with the Championship Finals of the 8th China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. It is sponsored by Chongqing University and Tianjin University, and co-organized by Xi'an Jiaotong University. It will be built into an influential competition and a Chinese brand for cultural and educational exchanges for the youth in China and other countries. It aims to boost the exchange among global college students on innovation and entrepreneurship, and better support and promote the innovation and entrepreneurship of college students.
Nearly 500 representatives from over 60 countries and regions participated in the event, including officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, representatives of the education and administration departments of each province (district and city), diplomatic envoys in Chongqing and representatives of overseas students in colleges and universities of Chongqing, major principals of colleges and universities in Chongqing, representatives of award-winning colleges and universities in the Competition, teacher and student representatives of colleges and universities in Chongqing. Moreover, 39,000 participating team representatives and more than 50,000 college student representatives from over 100 countries and regions participated by virtual means.
