On the morning of September 12th, 2019, “Seminar on ICT in Higher Education for Asian and European Countries”, and “Seminar on ICT Application in Higher Education for African Countries” opened at the MOOC Center, Southern University of Technology and Science (SUSTech). Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of People’s Republic of China, and hosted by Shenzhen Association for Promoting International Economic & Technological Cooperation (APIETC), these two seminars are organized by the Center for Higher Education Research (CHER).

CHER Deputy Director Prof. Zhao Jianhua hosted the opening ceremony. Foreign Cooperation Division of Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau Head He Zhimei, APIETC Vice President Fan Xiangdong and CHER Director Li Ming welcomed all the attendees. CHER Professors Han Wei and Shen Hong attended the ceremony with industry representatives.

Ms. He introduced the development of the energetic and young city of Shenzhen and its accomplishment in many aspects. Mr. Fan extended his warmest welcome to the participants, and stressed that participants should take good care of themselves in China. Prof. Li expressed his expectation for both seminars, hoping that they would serve as a great platform for participants to learn more about Shenzhen, China, and its higher education development. Representatives from the two seminars also took to the stage to give a few words. They both pointed out that the seminar would provide a good opportunity for them to know more about China and the ICT application in higher education in China.

Over the past three years, CHER has successfully co-organized a total of six seminars on ICT application in higher education. Taking advantages of Shenzhen’s industrial strength and SUSTech’s disciplinary development, these capacity building seminars have proved to be effective in improving the ICT development in higher education in developing countries across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Both seminars will take place in Shenzhen, Beijing and Wuhan in the coming three weeks. The Seminar for Asian and European Countries will focus on Big Data and Cloud Computing, with participants from Myanmar, Palestine, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. The Seminar for African countries will concentrate on “ICT-enabled Administrative Systems”, with members from Djibouti, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Gambia.

The Seminars have also invited experts from top universities in China such as Tsinghua University & Huazhong University of Science and Technology, while also welcoming strategic enterprise partners such as Huawei to deliver lectures on the two topics. A wide range of cultural activities have also been arranged to give participants a better insight into China and create lasting memories.