The 3rd China City and University Development Conference co-sponsored by China Association of Higher Education and Chongqing University was held as one of the sub-forums of the 58th · 59th Higher Education Expo China at Chongqing International Expo Center on April 9. About 350 participants showed up at the event, including Guan Peijun, Vice-chairman of the China Association of Higher Education and a former full-time member of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (vice minister level), Wang Shuguo, President of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Zhou Xuhong, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and former President of Chongqing University, Xue Lan, a senior professor of liberal arts and President of the Schwarzman Scholars, Han Shouxin, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Qingdao People's Congress, and Chairman of Urban Construction and Environmental Resources Committee of Qingdao People's Congress, and Wang Shilong, Managing Deputy Secretary of the CPC CQU Committee, as well as officials from the People's Government of Fuzhou, Chengdu Education Bureau, and Hefei Education Bureau. Liu Hanlong, Managing Vice President of Chongqing University, presided at the event.

Main forum of the 3rd China Urban and University Development Conference

The participants had heated discussions over new ideas, new concepts, and new mechanisms of high-quality development of cities and colleges and universities through collaborative innovation with "Co-development and Innovation" as the theme. The participants offered advice and suggestions on in-depth integration, co-development and co-building of cities and colleges and universities.

Liu Hanlong, Managing Vice President of Chongqing University, presided at the event.

In recent years, Chongqing has built the "template" of the integrated development of the Science City and the University Town by initiating joint efforts to build innovation platforms, optimize the innovation mechanism and incubate innovation achievements. It has become a "model city" of integrated development of universities and the local government.

In his speech delivered at the event, Guan Peijun pointed out that the co-development of a city and the colleges and universities there is supported by profound historical logic, and clear, solid practical logic. An in-depth understanding needs to be gained of the new connotation and new requirements of collaborative development between a city and the colleges and universities. Moreover, efforts should be made to create new power and advantages for the co-development of a city and the colleges and universities and to explore new paths and mechanisms for innovative development of a city and the colleges and universities.

Guan Peijun, Vice-chairman of the China Association of Higher Education and a former full-time member of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (vice minister level), delivered a speech.

During his speech, Wang Shilong said that: "In the past 5 years, more than 40% of the graduates of Chongqing University got a job in Chongqing. This figure was 42.05% in 2022." In the 94 years since its founding, Chongqing University has been making solid efforts to promote university-local government cooperation, and university-city integration, providing substantial talent and intelligence support for the eco-social development of Chongqing.

Wang believed that the development of a city and the colleges and universities there should be coordinated and synchronous. Standing at a new starting point in history, colleges and universities should take the initiative to shoulder the mission of the times. To this end, Wang put forward 3 suggestions: 1. Efforts should be made to nurture and attract talents for the development of the city; 2. Efforts should be made to provide a source of technological innovation impetus for the modernization of a city; and 3. Efforts should be made to lead the spirit of a city with the university culture.

Wang Shilong, Managing Deputy Secretary of CPC CQU Committee, delivered a speech.

"Frontier scientific and technological fields of the world can be very big, such as movement of celestial bodies, the evolution of galaxies, the origin of the universe, or very small, such as gene editing, particle structure, and quantum regulation." In a keynote speech by Wang Shuguo titled "Reform and Development of Higher Education in the Context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution", he pointed out that in this new round of scientific and technological reform and rapid development of industrial reform, scientific and technological innovation features increased extent, great depth, high speed and enhanced precision. Higher education should respond to the four concerns of the world, the country, the community, and the people: The value idea of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, active response to the national strategy, breaking the discipline barrier, promoting inter-disciplinary development and getting involved in the main battlefield of economy and society.

Wang Shuguo, President of Xi'an Jiaotong University, delivered a keynote speech.

"A city provides a growing environment for universities and universities drive the development of a city. The development of a city is impossible without the talent and intelligence support of higher education". In his keynote speech titled "Integration of University-local Government · Integration of Science and Education Creating a NewLlocal Ecology for Higher Education Service of Qingdao", Wang said that Qingdao had built a high-quality higher education resource introduction mechanism, a key discipline (program) construction support mechanism, a flexible mechanism for local transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and a pairing mechanism of university joint education from 4 perspectives, including enhanced supply of resources, promotion of university-local government cooperation, the building of cooperation platforms and mutual assistance.

Han Shouxin, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Qingdao People's Congress and Chairman of the Urban Construction and Environmental Resources Committee of Qingdao People's Congress, delivered a keynote speech.

"Mutual development of a city and the colleges and universities in it plays an important role in improving the innovation system of a city and promoting the innovation vitality of the first-rate universities". In his speech, Zhou Xuhong pointed out that a city gives birth to universities, while universities feed the city. A city and the colleges and universities in it should cooperate. The city and the colleges and universities in it should emphasize leadership in the top-level design to make mutual achievement and realize a win-win result. Furthermore, they should make concerted efforts to develop and channel out new tracks in new fields and create new kinetic energy and advantages for the development of the region and the country.

Zhou Xuhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the former President of Chongqing University, delivered a keynote speech.

At the Conference, Xue Lan shared his understanding of the concept and connotation of the index system of the international science and technology innovation center and the index of the international science and technology innovation center in a keynote speech titled Construction of Urban Scientific Innovation Center and Development of Higher Education. He gave a view of the higher education and international scientific innovation center construction from perspectives including science centers, innovation centers, and innovation ecology. According to Xue, advancement in emerging scientific and technological fields including generative artificial intelligence is of profound significance for higher education. It also provides new opportunities for Chongqing to optimize its higher education layout and improve the innovation ecology of Chongqing. Furthermore, it also helps to enhance the status of the science enter, optimize the innovation ecology function, and greatly enhance the comprehensive performance and advantages of Chongqing in building the international scientific innovation center.

Xue Lan, a senior professor of liberal arts and President of the Schwarzman Scholars, made a keynote speech.

It is reported that in addition to the main forum, two sub-forums, "Digital Empowerment: Modernization of Higher Education and City Governance" and "Collaborative Innovation: Higher Education Reform and Development and City Competitiveness Enhancement", were also being held on the afternoon. The two sub-forums were respectively chaired by Li Jian, Vice President of Chongqing University, and Li Yingmin, President Assistant of Chongqing University and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment. Totally more than 500 experts, researchers, students, and teachers were present at the event.

Photo: Publicity Department of the CPC Committee, Chongqing Channel of people.com.cn