From June 15th to 16th, the inaugural Private University Presidents’ Conference and the Leadership Transition Meeting of the Higher Education Professional Committee of the China Association for Non-Governmental Education were held in Beijing. The event saw the presence of prominent leaders and guests, including Lin Huiqing, Director of the National Undergraduate Education Teaching Evaluation Expert Committee and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education; Li Lianning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth National People’s Congress, Deputy Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress, Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Twelfth National People’s Congress, and Honorary President of the China Association for Non-Governmental Education; Qu Zhenyuan, former President of the China Higher Education Society and former Party Secretary of China Agricultural University; Ren Youqun, Director-General of the Department of Teacher Affairs at the Ministry of Education; Liu Lin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, National Inspector, and President of the China Association for Non-Governmental Education. The meeting was attended by more than 300 participants, including experts, scholars, and representatives from private universities, provincial-level non-governmental education associations, and education administrative departments from across the country. Hu Junsheng, Executive Vice President of Xi’an Peihua University, also attended the conference. Additionally, Chairman Jiang Bo was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Higher Education Professional Committee of the China Association for Non-Governmental Education.
Li Lianning’s Opening Speech
In his opening speech, Li Lianning pointed out that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech during the fifth collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee has elaborated on the significant meaning of building a strong education country and indicated the direction for the construction of an education powerhouse. China’s higher education is currently undergoing a key phase of transformation and upgrading, accelerating high-quality development, and private universities face new opportunities and challenges. Private universities should take the spirit of the 20th Party Congress as their guide, elevate their political stance, and implement the fundamental task of nurturing talents for the Party and the nation. They should focus on optimizing governance systems and structures, promoting the modernization of governance systems and capabilities in private higher education. Furthermore, they should align themselves with the needs of high-tech industry development, improve the discipline construction and educational quality of private universities, and drive innovation in theory and practice in private higher education. By maintaining and enhancing the vitality of private universities, private higher education can continue to uphold the spirit of taking initiative and create a new situation for the high-quality development of private higher education.
Lin Huiqing’s Keynote Address
Lin Huiqing, Director of the National Undergraduate Education Teaching Evaluation Expert Committee and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, delivered a keynote address under the themes of “Grasping Role Definition and Action Direction in the New Journey of Building a Strong Higher Education Nation” and “Focusing on Prominent Issues to Accelerate the High-Quality Construction of Talent Training Systems.” She expressed her expectations and requirements for private universities in her speech. She emphasized that over the past 40 years, China's private higher education has achieved significant reforms and developments. However, facing the new challenges and requirements for high-quality development and the new strategic goal of building an education powerhouse, private universities must redouble their efforts. They need to significantly enhance their educational standards and quality, bear the mission and responsibility of accelerating the construction of a strong higher education nation, strengthen legal governance, accelerate the transformation of development modes, and firmly adhere to the path of development. Lin Huiqing stressed that private universities should anchor themselves to higher standards, proactively adapt to societal needs, adjust and optimize their program structures, focus on key areas, deepen educational reforms, advance institutional and mechanism innovation, and concentrate on improving modern university governance. It is essential to establish a sound quality assurance system. She encouraged the China Association for Non-Governmental Education and the Higher Education Professional Committee of the Association to embrace new missions and lead private universities on a united journey towards new achievements in the high-quality development of private higher education.
During the conference, keynote speeches were delivered by prominent figures including Qu Zhenyuan, former President of the China Higher Education Society and former Party Secretary of China Agricultural University; Ren Youqun, Director-General of the Department of Teacher Affairs at the Ministry of Education; and Chen Qiangbing, Chairman and President of Seentao Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yonyou Group.
On the afternoon of the 16th, the conference organized four sub-forums: “Evaluation of Teaching and Education in Private Undergraduate Colleges,” “Development Discussion on Independent College Specialties,” “Exploration of Development Models for Private Higher Vocational Education in the New Era,” and "Research and Education of Graduate Students in Private Universities." Following this, the China Association for Non-Governmental Education's Higher Education Professional Committee (referred to as the Professional Committee) held its leadership transition meeting. The meeting included the presentation of the work report by Ji Ping, the Chairman of the Professional Committee for the second session. It also involved the deliberation and approval of the composition of the third session of the board members. Wang Lisheng, former Director of the Center for Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development at the Ministry of Education was elected as the Chairman of the third session of the Professional Committee. Additionally, Xi’an Peihua University and 65 other private universities were elected as Vice Chair Units of the Professional Committee, and Xu Xiaoqiang was elected as the Secretary-General of the Professional Committee.
Chairman Wang Lisheng, in his address, outlined the work plan for the third session of the board, emphasizing the elevation of political stance, improvement of educational standards, expansion of educational scope, enhancement of social recognition, and increase in international competitiveness. He expressed the commitment to strengthen the organization’s internal development, further refine the member liaison mechanism, and focus on building “five platforms” for conferences, research, exchange, evaluation, and training. He emphasized the importance of shouldering the historical responsibility of private universities.
