As part of the events during the Opening Ceremony for the 2023 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week, Forum on Opportunities and Challenges of Professional Talents Training Facilitated by Industry-University-Research Integration for Enterprise-running Universities and Colleges kicked off on August 28th at Guiyang Institute of Information Science and Technology, attracting experts and scholars from universities and colleges, representatives from research institutions and government, home and abroad. Countries ranged from Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines to Timor Lorsa’e. The forum is aimed to discuss and explore innovative ways to train and cultivate application-oriented talents so as to enhance international exchange and cooperation with ASEAN countries.

The forum is consist of four sessions including Opening Ceremony, Guest Speech Delivery, High-level Dialogues and MOU Signing Ceremony. Professor Tang Jianrong, the  President of Guiyang Institute of Information Science and Technology, highlighted the commitment to enhance international ties with ASEAN countries, emphasizing the importance of establishing a more collaborative and open channel for education, and the determination of building long-term cooperative relationships with worldwide universities and colleges, institutions and international organizations.

Dr. Nattapat Ruaengmaneeya, Consultant to the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation of Thailand, objectively and comprehensively explained the opportunities and challenges that Thailand faces in industry-university collaboration. Dr. Nattapat stated that the innovative development of industry-university collaboration calls for joint efforts from both educational institutions and enterprises, where the collision and integration between educational and industrial thoughts may spark new ideas, driving innovations led by industry.

Under the theme of the forum, Prof. Tang Zhimin, the Assistant President of PIM and Director of the China-ASEAN Research Center of PIM explained the advantages of employment-oriented education and the role of dual mentors from both universities and enterprises in talent development. He suggested that universities should look into the future in the China-ASEAN context, establishing a China-ASEAN Enterprise-run University and College Alliance to share international educational resources, discuss latest educational models and beliefs, and set quality standards for China-ASEAN enterprise-run universities and colleges.

Dr. Carmela S. Dizon, the Director of Alumni Affairs and Career Services at Angeles University Foundation of Philippines, emphasized the need for comprehensive vocational education integrated throughout university career. She advocated for establishing bridges between students and companies for better understanding their employment needs through diverse channels, and optimizing talent development models to achieve precise alignment between industry demands and educational offerings.

Mr. Huang Daifang, Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Tellhow Group, and Honorary Chairman of Guiyang Institute of Information Science and Technology, shared the experience of Tellhow of innovative industry-university integration in the example of Guiyang Institute of Information Science and Technology. Huang objectively analyzed the challenges and opportunities faced by enterprise-driven education in the current context, proposing corresponding strategies. He mentioned v Group has made active exploration of building modern industry colleges and excellent engineering colleges in collaboration with universities like Donghua University and Jiangxi Normal University, emphasizing the deep integration of university and industry.

Prof. Rosli Bin Yusof, the Senior Vice President of Management and Science University of Malaysia, stated that universities should follow the trend of application-oriented teaching and learning, strengthening domestic and international industry-university cooperation and building sustainable application-oriented higher education ecosystems in the current context.

After the event, guests were invited to the Campus Tour which demonstrated National Intangible Cultural Heritage Chinese paper-cutting art, allowing guests to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture.