PolyU joins Excellence 9 and elected as next rotating presidency institution; Participates in UK-China Excellence University Presidents Forum to explore educational transformation in AI era
The Excellence 9 (E9), an alliance comprising nine leading universities in the Chinese Mainland, convened its 15th Presidents’ Joint Conference on 29 October at Southeast University in Nanjing. With the approval of all member institutions, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) officially joined the alliance, marking the expansion of E9 into a new “9+1” framework. PolyU was also elected as the next rotating presidency institution of the alliance. It will work closely with fellow member universities to deepen collaboration in engineering education, research innovation, talent cultivation and teacher-student exchanges, fostering regularised communication between Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland higher education to better integrate into and serve national development strategies.
Academician Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President, expressed his gratitude for the trust and support of the other member institutions. He noted that PolyU has long attached great importance to exchange and cooperation with Chinese Mainland higher education, enjoying robust partnerships and fruitful achievements with E9 institutions, such as Tongji University, Tianjin University and Harbin Institute of Technology, across academic exchanges, research collaboration, talent development and innovation and entrepreneurship.
Academician Jin-Guang Teng remarked, “In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), knowledge acquisition is no longer a barrier of learning. We must encourage students to step beyond the classroom, apply their professional expertise to community service and broaden their global perspective, while enhancing students’ cross-cultural exchange through practical engagement.” He looked forward to increasing reciprocal visits among teachers and students, expanding diverse collaborative platforms such as joint laboratories and international academic conferences, and establishing a regularised cooperation mechanism between Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland higher education to elevate the alliance’s global influence and discourse power.
Renowned for its robust engineering disciplines, PolyU possesses distinct strengths in nurturing engineering and innovation talent, advancing research excellence and promoting internationalisation. Upon joining the alliance, PolyU will leverage disciplinary synergies with other member universities to strengthen cooperation in engineering education reform, joint scientific research, academic exchanges and global talent cultivation, while actively supporting key initiatives such as international career development for outstanding engineers. As PolyU celebrates its 90th anniversary next year, the University plans to seize this milestone as an opportune moment to host the next E9 Presidents’ Joint Conference, celebrating the occasion together with fellow member institutions.
Established in 2010, the Excellence 9 (E9) was co-founded by the Beijing Institute of Technology, Chongqing University, Dalian University of Technology, Southeast University, Harbin Institute of Technology, South China University of Technology, Tianjin University, Tongji University and Northwestern Polytechnical University. Upholding the philosophy of “Pursuing Excellence and Resource Sharing”, the alliance is dedicated to driving higher education pedagogical reforms and jointly fostering exceptional talent.
Following the Conference, Academician Jin-Guang Teng attended the UK-China Excellence University Presidents Forum held in Nanjing on 30 October. Hosted by Southeast University and with the theme “Breaking Education Borders for a New Global Future”, the Forum brought together leaders from over 20 premier universities across China and the UK, including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Tongji University, to share educational innovations, foster interdisciplinary synergy and explore new pathways for international collaboration in higher education in the AI era.
Attending Panel One as the head of E9’s newest member university, Academician Jin-Guang Teng engaged in in-depth dialogue with Academician Sun Youhong, President of Southeast University; Prof. Sai Gu, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (East and South East Asia) of the University of Warwick; Prof. Zhao Xianzhong, Vice President of Tongji University; Prof. Matthew Grenby, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University; and Prof. Wang Bo, Vice President of the Beijing Institute of Technology. Centred on the theme “Transformation and Innovation: AI Revolution in Global Education”, the leaders explored institutional transition paths and future talent cultivation paradigms, with Prof. Teng sharing innovative PolyU practices in advancing towards a “Fourth-Generation University”.
Academician Jin-Guang Teng highlighted that, with the advent of the AI era, higher education is transitioning from the traditional discipline-based and curiosity-driven paradigm towards a fourth-generation university model characterised by “demand-driven, problem-oriented, interdisciplinary and academia-industry collaboration”. PolyU’s strategic positioning as an innovative world-class university, alongside its educational goal of nurturing students through the vision of “value-led, competency-based, fostering proactive learning and embracing innovation”, exemplifies this developmental model.
He further elaborated on PolyU’s forward-looking explorations in AI education: well before generative AI tools swept the globe, PolyU was a pioneer in incorporating AI into compulsory curricula for undergraduate students. Furthermore, the University launched its visionary “Education 4.0” initiative, integrating AI and smart technologies into teaching and learning to empower future-ready leaders capable of addressing emerging global challenges.
During the Forum, participating universities released a joint initiative on reshaping the future of global education, establishing consensus on tackling shared challenges, deepening educational exchange, transforming talent training models, driving interdisciplinary innovation and building enduring dialogue mechanisms.
PolyU remains steadfast in its aim of deepening collaboration with higher education in the Chinese Mainland and across the globe. Moving forward, the University will continue to demonstrate its unique advantages of being “rooted in Hong Kong, backed by the Motherland and connected to the world”, fostering cross-regional and interdisciplinary educational and scientific partnerships to contribute to higher education development locally, nationally and globally.
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