On 16th September, 2020, China-Thailand IKCEST Training Programme for Silk Road Engineering Science and Technology Development was officially launched. This training program was hosted by Xi'an Jiaotong University and the UNESCO International Center for Engineering Science and Technology Knowledge (IKCEST) and co-organized by the Thai Alumni Association of China’s Universities, Beijing Open Distance Education Center, and MOOC China Alliance.
The conference had two parallel sessions with one in China and the other in Thailand. Zheng Qinghua, Vice President of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Liu Chang, Deputy Director of the Information Construction Division of the General Office of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Solanit Siratham, Undersecretary for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation of Thailand, Luo Tieying, Chairman of the Chinese University Alumni Association in Thailand, Luo Zongzheng, Chairman of the Chinese Teachers (Thailand) Association, as well as vice presidents, teacher representatives and related personnel from 12 universities including Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, Rangsit University, attended the online conference.
The vice president of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Zheng Qinghua delivered an English speech under the topic of "Cultivate Innovative Talents Through Our Joint Efforts of Connecting & Sharing". He pointed out that under the guidance of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, Xi’an Jiaotong University took the initiative to undertake the work of the UNESCO International Engineering Science and Technology Knowledge Center (IKCEST) Silk Road Training Base and had accomplished many creative tasks for the “Belt and Road” talent training. Additionally, after the outbreak of the Covid-19, XJTU bravely shouldered its responsibility and fully taped the potential of IKCEST Silk Road training base in 2020. He hoped that the two countries could take the training as an opportunity to leverage the all-round cooperation between China and Thailand in economy, trade, people-to-people exchanges, and science and technology.
In Deputy Director Liu Chang’s speech, she talked about the friendship between China and Thailand that lasted over generations and shared visions and understandings of talent training. After the outbreak of the Covid-19, online training has become a pivotal way for countries around the world to promote education at different levels and strengthen exchanges and cooperation. IKCEST would like to use its own methods to promote the cultivation of talents, expand partnerships, and build a bridge for education and business cooperation between China and Thailand, so as to promote future cooperation and bring prosperity to people of the two countries.
Dr. Solanit Siratham expressed his gratitude to the organizers and co-organizers of the online training launching ceremony, as well as the Thai universities and vocational colleges participating in the programme. He hoped that the launch of China-Thailand online talent training programme would help to cultivate and train urgently needed engineering and technological talents for Thai social and economic development and for a further developed China-Thailand relations. At the same time, he announced the official start of the China-Thailand IKCEST Training Programme for Silk Road Engineering Science and Technology Development
.
Chairman Luo Zongzheng said that the construction of high-quality courses was centered on talent training. The China-Thailand online training will produce high-quality online courses and train high-level teachers, aiming to provide top notch courses for students from China and Thailand and to share high-quality educational resources between the two countries.
Chairman Luo Tieying highly recognized the online training programme, and hoped that China and Thailand could work together to break the geographical and time constraints for joint talent trainings and could contribute to the future cooperation and development of China-Thailand education.
The speeches of the guests aroused strong resonance from representatives of universities in Thailand. Leaders of 12 Thai universities including Thonburi University in Bangkok, Prince of Songkhla University, Sparton University, etc. exchanged ideas and put forward suggestions on topic setting and curriculum design of the online training, by which an improved and a more custom-made service could be offered to Thai partners. Representatives of various universities generally expressed the hope that training projects could be carried out as soon as possible, and universities could share high-quality educational resources and improve the educational services via joint efforts.
