Li Zhongping, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and Chair of the CAE’s Education Committee, attended the first videoconference of the CAETS Engineering Education Working Group for the year, held on April 27.

The working group includes Indranil Manna, President of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), as the chair and Katharine Frase, a member of the National Academy of Engineering in the US and former Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at IBM Public Sector, as the co-chair. The INAE hosts the group’s secretariat.

Chaired by Manna, the meeting addressed on the impact of the pandemic on engineering education and called for wider cooperation while putting forward suggestions to ensure equity in education.

In his speech, Li described the pandemic as a severe challenge with complex and diverse impacts on engineering education, and emphasized the necessity of exploring more active and efficient teaching modes. On one hand, many universities in China actively developed online programs, thus accelerating the reach of online learning. These efforts not only prompted schools to enhance their technology and methods of online education, but will also serve as a complementary means of offline education after the pandemic. On the other hand, with the pandemic gradually under control, engineering education is now gradually returning to traditional offline modes.

He highlighted the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on engineering education, with digital transformation emerging as a vital trend. The swift advancement of information technology and its extensive application in virtual laboratories, personalized learning, and digital tools have facilitated engineering education to go digital. This transformation improves the quality of engineering education, helping students better master skills and knowledge, and stimulates the innovation and development of engineering education.

He concluded by suggesting that the CAE and other members of CAETS could utilize the working group as a platform for deepening exchanges and learning from each other, thereby elevating the cooperation in engineering education to a new level.

In the meeting by video link, nearly 50 representatives and experts from 21 national engineering academies engaged in an in-depth exchange and discussion.