(Correspondent Xu Gaonan) From June 29 to June 30, 2024, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, in order to actively implement the consensus of the Chinese and French heads of state, realize the spirit of the first Sino-French forum on educational development, and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the founding of Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University, Beihang University organized the Forum and Exhibition on High-Quality Development of Sino-French Cooperative Education in Beijing.

Forum and Exhibition on High-Quality Development of Sino-French Cooperative Education

On the morning of June 29, before the forum, Zhao Changlu, Secretary of the Party Committee of the university, specially met with the delegation of the Groupe des Ecoles Centrale and the delegation of Group INSA.

Zhao Changlu, secretary of the Beihang University Party Committee, met the delegation.

According to Zhao Changlu, China and France share a deep friendship, and Beihang University and the Groupe des Ecoles Centrale have made extraordinary achievements over the past two decades of cooperation, training over 1,000 engineers with international perspectives. In so doing, both sides have established a high degree of mutual trust and strengthened the friendship between the two peoples. In the future, Beihang University will expand its cooperation with France and launch a new cooperation project with the Group INSA in Hangzhou. It is hoped that in the future, China and France will conduct broader and deeper cooperation in more disciplines, nurture more talents and work hand in hand to contribute to world development.

On the afternoon of June 29, the Forum and Exhibition on High-Quality Development of Sino-French Cooperative Education was held in the first amphitheater of Beihang University's new main building. More than 200 experts attended the forum, including Qian Lixia, Minister Counselor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Xu Chaofeng, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, Sun Mingchun, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Affairs of the Ministry of Education of China, Tian Lulu, Deputy Secretary General of the China Scholarship Council, An Yan, Deputy Secretary General of the China Education Association for International Exchange, Wang Yunpeng, President of Beihang University, Romain SOUBEYRAN, President of the Groupe des Écoles Centrale, and Mourad BOUKHALFA, President of the Group INSA and Rector of the INSA Rouen, Pascal RAY, Rector of the École Centrale de Lyon, Frédéric FOTIADU, Rector of the INSA Lyon, Bertrand RAQUET, Rector of the INSA Toulouse, Armel de la BOURDONNAYE, Rector of INSA Hauts-de-France, Etienne CRAYE, Rector of ESIGELEC Rouen, Gilles FLEURY, General Delegate of the Groupe des Ecoles Centrale, Damien FABREGUE, Vice-Rector of the INSA Lyon, Cyril MARTEAU, Vice-Rector of ESIGELEC School of Engineering, Qiu Haibo, vice president of Southeast University, Luo Guangchun, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhou Zhongrong, vice president of Southwest Jiaotong University, Wang Fazhou, vice president of Wuhan University of Technology, Li Qianwen, vice president of Nanjing Audit University, Li Zhonghong, deputy secretary of Dongguan University of Technology, Pierre Vialettes, CIO of Airbus China, and Guo Jinliang, general manager of China Government and Enterprise Education and Medical System Department of Huawei. The forum was hosted by Zhao Weisheng, Vice President of Beihang University.

Xu Chaofeng, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, gave a speech.

Xu Chaofeng delivered a speech at the forum's opening ceremony. According to him, in the face of the current new cycle of scientific and technological revolution and the impact of industrial change, Sino-French cooperative education is confronted with new opportunities and challenges, and we should fully play the role of demonstrating Sino-French Engineer School as the leading institution of the Sino-French Alliance for the Development of Cooperative Education, innovate the mode of cooperation, strengthen the synergistic integration of education and industry, deepen the potential for cooperation, and advance the field of Sino-French industry and information to a higher level so that the two countries' industry and information expand to wider fields and newer modes, and pragmatic results are achieved.

Sun Mingchun, Deputy Director General of the International Department of the Ministry of Education, gave a speech.

Sun Mingchun said in his speech that Beihang University had a good tradition of cooperation with France, particularly in the field of engineering education, and had cultivated many flagship projects with French universities, and that Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University was the first Sino-French school approved by the Ministry of Education. We hope that the school will focus on training talent, creating high-quality talent with integrity and competence, fully playing its role as a node, providing opportunities and creating conditions for more exchanges and visits between Chinese and French academics, teachers and students, and attracting more outstanding international students to study in China, in order to promote mutual understanding between peoples and foster Sino-French relations through education.

Tian Lulu, Deputy Secretary General of the China Scholarship Council, gave a speech.

Tian Lulu said in his speech that China and France had a broad base of cooperation in the field of engineering education. As a pioneer of Sino-French educational cooperation, Beihang University has a proven track record in training top-level international general engineers, providing a model for successful Sino-French cooperation. The China Scholarship Board will support China's top universities, including Beihang University, to help more young Chinese teachers and students go out of the country and welcome more international students to study in China.

An Yan, Deputy Secretary General of the China Education Association for International Exchange, gave a speech.

An Yan said in his speech that since its inception, the China Education Association for International Exchange has been committed to promoting Sino-foreign educational exchanges and cooperation, opening up education to the outside world and contributing to high-quality educational development. It has long established a platform for Chinese and French universities to create opportunities for exchange and cooperation, and has always supported the Sino-French Alliance for the Development of Cooperative Education led by Beihang University to conduct national and regional studies and organize bilateral and multilateral conferences. She expressed her sincere congratulations to the Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University for successfully training its 1,000th engineering student.

President Wang Yunpeng gave a keynote speech.

Mr. Wang Yunpeng reviewed and looked forward to the Sino-French engineering education at Beihang University under the title of "Twenty years of building dreams and painting new chapters together". On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, Beihang University and Groupe des Ecoles Centrale joined hands to establish the Sino-French Engineer School, which opened a new era of educational cooperation between the two countries. The cooperation between Beihang University and Groupe des Ecoles Centrale has been supported by the governments of China and France, and the 20 years of cooperation between China and France has led to three important revelations: firstly, the integrated training model combining the French preparatory-engineering system and the Chinese bachelor's-master's system; secondly, the adherence to the mechanism of the Joint Management Committee and the close cooperation between the management teams of China and France, which has built up a high degree of mutual trust; and thirdly, the establishment of the mechanism of concentrating on synergy and stable investment by all parties. Thirdly, it has established a mechanism of synergy and stable input from all parties to ensure the sustainable development of Sino-French educational cooperation. For the future, Beihang University will work hand-in-hand with its French partners to build a new pole within Beihang University for Sino-French cooperation in Hangzhou, continue to consolidate and deepen Beihang University's cooperation with France in Beijing, seriously implement the consensus of the Chinese and French heads of state, and respond positively to the initiative to "Bring more than 10,000 French students to China in the next three years, and double the scale of exchanges of young Europeans to China. "So that together we can write a new chapter in Sino-French cooperation.

Four Chinese and French experts and researchers in the field of education, namely Romain SOUBEYRAN, Pierre Vialettes, Mourad BOUKHALFA and Guo Jinliang, took the floor in succession, discussing the trend of Sino-French cooperation in higher education at Beihang University from different angles and providing new insights into the training of excellent engineers in China and France.

Romain SOUBEYRAN, President of the Groupe des Écoles Centrale, gave a speech entitled Sino-French Engineer School: 20 years of Sino-French cooperation, Groupe des Ecoles Centrale's innovative cooperation in the training of overseas engineers.

Pierre VIALETTES, CIO of Airbus China, gave a presentation entitled Aviation Industry's Growing Demand for Engineers and the Future Engineer Development.

Mourad BOUKHALFA, Rector of the INSA Rouen, gave a speech entitled INSA and the digital and ecological transformation: from the evolution of pedagogical sciences to the integration of international programs.

Guo Jinliang, general manager of China Government and Enterprise Education and Medical System Department of Huawei delivered a speech entitled Rooting in Digital and Intelligent Education and Building an Innovative Foundation for a Stronger Education Nation.

In the roundtable dialogue, Frédéric FOTIADU, Zhou Zhongrong, Bertrand RAQUET, Wang Fazhou, Armel de la BOURDONNAYE, Li Qianwen, Li Zhonghong moderated the dialogues around the theme of the forum. The roundtable dialogue was hosted by Pascal Ray.

Roundtable dialogue

Wang Yunpeng and Romain SOUBEYRAN turned the tassel from right to left side and award students a diploma (this is a graduation ceremony).

Wang Yunpeng et Romain SOUBEYRAN conferred master's degree and engineer's certificate on the 1000th graduate.

During the forum, a graduation ceremony was also held for graduates of Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University. Wang Yunpeng and Romain SOUBEYRAN passed the students' hat tassels from the right to the left side and awarded them a diploma. They sent their best wishes and conferred master's degree and engineer's certificate on the 1000th graduate.

Chu Kaiyang, representing the 2024 graduates of Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University, gave a speech.

As the 1,000th graduate of Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University, Chu Kaiyang gave a speech in French and Chinese, expressing his gratitude to all the leaders and teachers who have supported the school's development and worked hard for its growth.

Master's degrees and engineering certificates awarded to 2024 graduates

A group photo of the 2024 graduates of Sino-French Engineer School

In the evening of June 29th, a dinner was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the agreement between Beihang University and the Groupe des Écoles Centrale, which brought together members of both Chinese and French institutions.

On the morning of June 30th, the forum of deans of Sino-French cooperative institutions was held. The deans of Sino-French cooperative education institutions from Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Chang'an University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Dongguan University of Technology, Hohai University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing Audit University, Ningbo University, Shanghai University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tianjin University, Wuhan University of Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Civil Aviation University of China, Renmin University of China, Sun Yat-sen University, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts were invited to attend the forum, and they discussed around Sino-French cooperative education talent cultivation, scientific research, digital transformation etc.

From June 28 to 30, the Exhibition on Sino-French Cooperative Education was held at Beihang University's Aerospace Museum Square.

The forum brought together 29 institutions, including government departments, universities and renowned companies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the Ministry of Education of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the China Scholarship Council, China Education Association for International Exchange, Beihang University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Chang'an University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Dongguan University of Technology, Southeast University, Hohai University, East China University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing Audit University, Ningbo University, Shanghai University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tianjin University, Wuhan University of Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Civil Aviation University of China, Renmin University of China, Sun Yat-sen University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts (listed in alphabetical order of pinyin), Aix-Marseille University, ESIGELEC Rouen, the Groupe des Écoles Centrale, the INSA, and over 200 experts, as well as the 2024 graduates of Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University took part in the forum.

Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University was established in 2004 with the support of the Chinese and French Ministries of Education, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The school is the result of a collaboration between Beihang University and the Groupe des Écoles Centrale, and began accepting students in September 2005. The school has been selected by the Ministry of Education as one of the leading programs of excellence in engineering education and training. It is also the first Sino-foreign cooperative educational institution to be accredited by the French Commission du titre d'ingénieur (CTI) and the European Engineering Training System (EUR-ACE). Sino-French Engineer School aims to train engineers with "a global vision, systems thinking and a capacity for collaborative innovation", capable of meeting the varied and rapid challenges of today's world. To date, Sino-French Engineer School of Beihang University has trained over 1,000 graduates who have obtained Chinese master's degrees and French engineering diplomas. These students have played an active front-line role in education, science and technology, the humanities and economic exchanges between China and France, playing a positive role in cultural and interpersonal exchanges between China and France.