The 2024 HCH – International Education Cooperation Conference was grandly held at the International Academic Exchange Center of Huazhong Agricultural University on October 23. Hosted by the Department of Education of Hubei Province and supported by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee (Hubei Overseas Chinese Affairs Office), the event was co-organized by Hubei Education International Exchange Service Center, Hubei Education International Exchange Association and Wuhan Hyde Cambridge Education Consult & Services Co., Ltd. Experts and scholars from home and abroad including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia gathered under the theme "Win-Win Cooperation: Galvanizing New Momentum for High-level Educational Opening-up", exchanging experience in international education and discussing strategies for the development of higher education. A batch of Sino-foreign exchange programs reached letters of intent for cooperation, and nine pairs of Hubei universities and overseas institutions signed agreements to advance Sino-foreign cooperative education projects.

Zhang Yongqiang, Deputy Director-General (Director-General Level) of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee, and Zhou Qihong, Deputy Director-General (Director-General Level) of the Department of Education of Hubei Province, met with key distinguished guests at the International Academic Exchange Center of Huazhong Agricultural University. They extended a warm welcome to all attendees and stated that Hubei will continuously strengthen and expand educational opening-up to drive high-quality educational development.

In his address, Zhou Qihong briefed the audience on the latest achievements of educational internationalization in Hubei. Hubei attaches great importance to international educational exchange and cooperation, and consistently regards educational opening-up as a key measure to advance high-quality development of higher education. Universities across the province have launched 103 high-standard Sino-foreign cooperative education programs with counterparts from 15 countries. More than 330 educational institutions in Hubei have recruited over 3,000 foreign teachers and experts, and 22,000 international students from 176 countries pursue studies at Hubei universities year-round. Hubei will pool provincial-wide resources to successfully host the 2025 World Digital Education Conference. It will establish a digital education alliance, develop high-quality multilingual digital education resources, and empower the development of international curricula, international student training and international Chinese language education via digital education.

In his speech, Zhang Yongqiang pointed out that the HCH Conference platform has greatly boosted all-round exchanges and cooperation between Hubei and the rest of the world, remarkably elevated Hubei’s global image and influence, and lifted the scale and strength of Hubei’s opening-up drive. He sincerely invited overseas guests to visit Hubei’s universities after the conference to deepen mutual understanding and lay a solid foundation for in-depth collaboration.

Wang Jianhong, Member of the Party Committee Standing Committee and Vice President of Huazhong Agricultural University, as the host institution representative, extended a warm welcome to all guests. He introduced that Huazhong Agricultural University integrates high-quality global educational resources and innovative elements at a high level. Focusing on upgrading the international competence of agricultural and forestry talents and advancing substantive international cooperation, the university has expanded in-depth exchanges and partnerships with world-leading scholars, universities and research institutions. He expressed confidence that this conference will further consolidate common development convergence points and growth drivers for all participants.

Yuan Yufeng, Member of the Party Committee Standing Committee and Vice President of Wuhan University, stated that Wuhan University has formulated a training program for digital-intelligent talents and set up a research center for digital-intelligent education and teaching. The university has co-initiated a practical innovation alliance for digital-intelligent education alongside top domestic universities, research institutes and renowned enterprises. It earnestly expects to carry out faculty-student exchanges and scientific research cooperation with world-class overseas universities, research institutes and industrial enterprises specializing in digital-intelligent education, learn from each other and achieve shared progress, contributing joint efforts to tackle complex scientific, technological and social challenges shared by humanity, such as life sciences, medical technologies, climate change, and risks posed by the adverse impacts of digital-intelligent technologies on humankind.

Dong Shijie, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Wuhan Polytechnic University, shared the university’s experience in pursuing open education oriented to the world, conducting international academic exchanges, talent training and scientific research cooperation with more than 100 universities, research institutes and industrial organizations across over 20 countries. Committed to internationalized schooling, Wuhan Polytechnic University steadily develops Sino-foreign cooperative education programs, actively hosts the Wuhan Forum for World-renowned Scientists Visiting Hubei to build an international exchange platform. Aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative, the university runs degree programs for international students and builds the branded "Study at Wuhan Polytechnic University" initiative, continuously elevating its global influence and deepening international partnerships.

Fan Tianmin, Member of the Party Committee and Vice President of China CITIC Bank Wuhan Branch, introduced the bank’s overseas financial service system, global visa services, overseas study planning and other supporting services.

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences for Medium-Sized Enterprises, a world-renowned German institution, participated in the conference. Prof. Dr. Tim Brüggemann, its Vice President, elaborated on its existing cooperation with Jianghan University and voiced willingness to launch collaborative programs with Hubei universities and research institutes covering scientific research, education, student exchange and faculty training.

Yu Jingwei, Director of China Exam Business Development at the British Council, shared global insights on overseas education trends and official IELTS data with participants, delivering an in-depth analysis of the overseas study landscape based on IELTS examination statistics.

The HCH International Education Cooperation Conference has been held for eight consecutive sessions, facilitating partnerships between more than 70 Chinese and foreign universities. It acts not only as a weathervane for international educational exchange and cooperation in Hubei Province, but also as a vital link and bridge for communication and collaboration between educational institutions worldwide.