December 7-9, 2022, the 3rd International Forum on Engineering Education 2022 (IFEE 2022), was jointly organized by Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and UNESCO, was held at Tsinghua University with online and onsite hybrid format. This forum, held under the theme of “Sustainable Innovation in Information Technology”, brought together renowned scholars and outstanding leaders in the fields of engineering education, engineering technology and engineering management across the world to discuss the innovative development of engineering education, promote the progress of global engineering technology and community, and address major global challenges. LI Xiaohong, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Office in Beijing, and QIN Changwei, Secretary-General of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, attended and addressed the opening ceremony of the forum. WANG Xiqin, President of Tsinghua University and Kazuya Masu, President of Tokyo Tech, made a keynote speech respectfully. GONG Ke, Chairperson of the Academic Board, Nankai University, and WANG Xiaoyun, General Manager of the Technology Department of China Mobile Group, made invited speeches. WANG Guangqian, Vice President of Tsinghua University, presided over the opening ceremony.

LI Xiaohong, Shahbaz Khan, QIN Changwei, WANG Xiqin,

Kazuya Masu, GONG Ke, WANG Xiaoyun and WANG Guangqian (from left to right)

On December 9, 2022, ICEE undertook the Panel B4 “Engineering Education for Sustainable Development and Digital Transformation” Sub-forum online. Prof. WU Qidi, former Vice Minister of Education of China and current Director of ICEE, Prof. YUAN Si, Vice Chairperson of Tsinghua University Council and Executive Director of ICEE, Prof. WANG Sunyu, Deputy Executive Director and Secretary General of ICEE, Prof. SUN Nan from the Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University as well as other experts and scholars of engineering education at home and abroad attended Panel B4 session, which was co-chaired by Prof. WU Qidi and Prof. SUN Nan.

WU Qidi, YUAN Si, LUO Yi, SUN Nan (from left to right)

On behalf of ICEE, Prof. WU Qidi firstly extended her warm welcome and sincere greetings to the distinguished guests, experts and scholars from all over the world. Six experts were invited to attend the sub-forum, namely Elizabeth Taylor, Chair of the Washington Accord, International Engineering Alliance (IEA), ZHOU Aijun, Executive Director and Secretary-General of China Engineering Education Accreditation Association (CEEAA), Damien Owens, Chair of the International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA), International Engineering Alliance, Anette Kolmos, Director of the Aalborg Centre for Problem Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability (UCPBL), Aalborg University, Denmark, HUANG Yidong, Vice Chairperson of the Academic Board of Tsinghua University and former Director of the Department of Electronic Engineering, and Prof. LI Manli from the Institute of Education, Tsinghua University. They exchanged their views on accreditation and sustainable development of engineering education, and the training of engineering innovative talents amid the digital transformation from different perspectives of their respective organizations.

“Engineering Education for Sustainable Development and Digital Transformation” Online Forum

After the end of the eight sub-forums, Prof. LUO Yi, a professor from the Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, presided over the closing ceremony of the forum, and Prof. YUAN Si delivered the closing speech. Prof. YUAN noted that the 3rd International Forum on Engineering Education had achieved fruitful results and was a great event of multidisciplinary exchange, cross-cultural mutual appreciation and multi-institutional collaboration, as well as a great event of sharing development experience and discussing future cooperation. On behalf of Tsinghua University and ICEE, Prof. YUAN also expressed his gratitude to the institutions and individuals who supported and organized the forum. Prof. YUAN indicated that engineering is the creative and driving force that human beings depend on for survival, development and progress. Engineering technology, engineering education and engineering talents are strategic supports to solve a series of major challenges in sustainable development and digital transformation. Although the Forum will come to an end, our dialogue, cooperation and friendship will continue. Let's join hands to paint a better future for the development of engineering education.

The International Forum on Engineering Education is a series of international academic conferences that are held every two years and co-sponsored by Tsinghua University, CAE and UNESCO. The first and second IFEEs were held at Tsinghua University in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

The IFEE 2022 has invited 89 well-known scholars, outstanding leaders and young students from 18 countries and regions in the fields of engineering education, engineering technology and engineering management, including 16 Chinese and foreign academicians, 11 Chinese and foreign university presidents and vice presidents, 22 heads of engineering faculties, and 9 heads of international professional organizations. Discussions were conducted on topics related to SDGs, such as “Electronic Information Enabling Technology”, “Urban Resilience”, “Digital Healthcare”, “New Power System”, “Smart New Energy Vehicles”, “Sustainable Innovation in Developing Countries”, “Sustainable Innovation By Young Students”, And “Engineering Education For Sustainable Development And Digital Transformation”. More than 2,000 people participated online, one of the sub-forums was open to the public, about 50,000 watched the live streaming.

The IFEE 2022, co-sponsored by the Department of Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University, the Office of Planning and Development and ICEE. Several sub-forums were undertaken by different departments of Tsinghua University, including the School of Architecture, the School of Medicine, the Department of Electrical Engineering, the School of Vehicle and Mobility, the Schwarzman College, the Southeast Asia Center, the China-Africa Leadership Development Institute, the Latin America Center and the UNESCO Chair on Continuing Engineering Education.

(Edited by LI Jingjing XU Lihui; Reviewed by WANG Sunyu)