Peking University, Apr. 1, 2015 : On March 24, the 10th Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) Annual Conference unveiled at Beijing International Convention Center (BICC), China. The main host Peking University (PKU) worked together with other top Chinese institutions of higher learning to welcome distinguished guests in the field of education. Katsuichi Uchida, president of APAIE, Wu Zhipan, executive vice president of PKU, Li Yansong, vice president of PKU and Zheng Dengwen, vice director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education attended the opening ceremony.

The Opening Ceremony

Theming at “The New Paradigm of Engaging Asia Pacific Universities for Exchange and Cooperation in a Global Context: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions”, the annual conference contained a variety of activities, such as theme forums, exhibitions, workshops and roundtable.

At the opening ceremony, President Katsuichi Uchida welcomed all the participants throughout the world. He looked back at history of the APAIE annual conference and strengthened the necessity and significance of education cooperation in Asia Pacific.

Wu Zhipan, executive vice president of PKU, expressed his warm welcome to the distinguished guests and his expectation of the conference. He regarded this conference as a big event in the field of education and in enhancing the cooperation between universities around the globe. Professor Wu also introduced the history of PKU’s education exchange and cooperation with other universities.

Zheng Dengwen, vice director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, expected that this annual conference could promote the internationalization process of the universities in Beijing as well as the construction of the “global city”.

Justin Yifu Lin, China’s well-known economist and Honorary Dean of National School of Development at PKU, delivered a keynote speech theming at “Demystifying the Chinese Economy” at the opening ceremony. He explained the main reason of the rapid economic growth after China’s open-up and illustrated the inspiration to other developing countries.

After the opening ceremony, the worldwide specialists attended 48 panel forums, discussing various topics, including the supporting services to students, course and project pattern, internationalization strategy, region and trend and so on.

Background info :
APAIE is an international non-profit organization whose goal is to activate and reinforce the internationalization of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, and to engage the professional challenges of individuals in international education. Since its establishment in 2006, APAIE has grown to be the third largest regional education organization.

The APAIE Annual Conference and Exhibition is one of the most well-known forums in the Asia-Pacific region for bringing together policy-makers and education experts from around the world to improve professional skills and learn about new developments in international education.

Written by : Meng Yiran
Edited by : Xiao Chunliang
Source : Office of International Relations