A group picture of attendees at the 6th Council Meeting of Sino-Foreign Cooperative University Union. [Photo/ wku.edu.cn]

The 6th Council Meeting of the Sino-Foreign Cooperative University Union was held at Wenzhou-Kean University in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Nov 16.

Wenzhou-Kean University is a joint venture between Wenzhou University in Zhejiang and Kean University in New Jersey, the United States.

The Sino-Foreign Cooperative University Union, founded in 2014, consists of nine universities, namely University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC), Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), New York University Shanghai (NYU Shanghai), Wenzhou-Kean University, Duke Kunshan University (DKU), the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT), and Shenzhen MSU-BIT University.

Executives from the nine universities discussed new challenges confronting international education in the post-pandemic era as well as new opportunities lying ahead for Sino-foreign cooperative universities in China, offering their views on how the country can continue to develop and reform higher education.

Also present at the meeting were government officials including Liu Jin, director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange at the Ministry of Education, Chen Genfang, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education, and Tang Xiaoshu, deputy mayor of Wenzhou.

Sino-Foreign cooperative universities, which offer a global perspective and diverse culture, are an alternative for many Chinese students whose overseas study plans have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Chen Zhi, vice-chancellor of UIC, at the meeting.

Nick Miles, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UNNC, believes that the pandemic has accelerated technological innovation among higher education institutions, many of which are relentlessly upgrading their online teaching services, and that international cooperation in this regard has become even more important.

Wang Li, president of Wenzhou-Kean University, makes the closing speech at the 6th Council Meeting of Sino-Foreign Cooperative University Union held in Wenzhou on Nov 16. [Photo/wku.edu.cn]