SUSTech gathers global academics to discuss development

Thought leaders and presidents from the world's top universities met online in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last week to discuss, analyze and provide advice to one of South China's new research and higher education powerhouses.

The 2021 meeting of the International Advisory Council of Southern University of Science and Technology took place on Dec 9 over two sessions, with 17 influential presidents and academic leaders from across the globe raising opportunities, options and risk management advice for the university－which is also known as SUSTech－and Chinese higher education in general on its continuous development.

SUSTech President Xue Qikun delivered a report to the International Advisory Council－or IAC－members, which explored the university's highlights since the previous IAC meeting in 2018, the progress made over the past three years, new opportunities and initiatives, and the university's vision and goals for the future.

He specifically outlined the new strategic plan for scientific breakthroughs in fundamental research and the key applied technology development plan.

IAC chair since 2012, Henry T.Yang, chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara, gave the opening remarks and chaired the discussion in the Asia-Pacific session, while Max Lu, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey, chaired the Eurasia session.

Jean-Lou Chameau, president emeritus of the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, said he is enthusiastic about SUSTech's undergraduate curriculum, believing that it is "one of the most innovative" and stating that he uses it as an example when advising other young universities across the world on curriculum design.

President of Rice University, David Leebron, said that it is remarkable that "in 10 years you have built a university roughly speaking on the scale of Rice university", a nearly 110-year-old institution, and specifically thanked SUSTech for hosting Rice students unable to travel to the US during the pandemic.

He said the "Global Embracement" program helped over 500 students of overseas universities, including Rice, to continue their online studies on the SUSTech campus rather than at home. Such collaboration will also lead to deepening partnerships between Chinese universities and the rest of the world in the post-pandemic era.

President Xue's outline of major projects focusing on fundamental science and key technology breakthroughs also impressed the IAC.The projects have earmarked substantial funds for 10 specific centers.

He also identified the development of Guangming Science City and the construction of cutting-edge research facilities, such as the free-electron laser, as crucial elements in attracting high-level talents to the city of Shenzhen.

Many IAC members gave considered suggestions on the positive opportunities SUSTech and Chinese universities can make use of to continue their rise.

Tony F. Chan, president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, identified Shenzhen's advantages as a center of global innovation. He believes this is hugely beneficial in attracting talents, comparing SUSTech's situation to that of Stanford, where students often enroll at Silicon Valley due to the proximity. "We have students who come to Stanford. Stanford is a steppingstone to Silicon Valley… Then of course you have people who started Cisco, Google, HP and so on," he said.

Samuel L. Stanley Jr., president of Michigan State University and a prominent biomedical researcher, enquired about the progress in developments with the medical school since his previous visit to SUSTech in 2018. President Xue and his team then briefed the IAC on the major international project of SUSTech-KCL School of Medicine in partnership with King's College London, which got the green light from the Ministry of Education this November.

As the IAC looked to SUSTech's second decade, they identified further opportunities. David Richardson, vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, asked about the nature of the two new Shenzhen universities under development at SUSTech: Shenzhen Ocean University and Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation, and how SUSTech will continue to take advantage of such projects and its state-of-the-art facilities such as its cryo-electron microscopy center.

The council meeting also offered potential for stronger partnerships between SUSTech and IAC members' institutions moving forward in student exchanges, entrepreneurship education, joint research in specific fields, online programs and more.

Aside from the positive news of SUSTech's progress and the opportunities available, IAC members pinpointed several areas of risk and advised the university's senior leadership to be aware of each. The role of the ongoing pandemic in international mobility and exchange was one such area, and the effect of this on the challenging work in recruiting and retaining quality faculty and students, in particular international ones, was a highlighted concern.

Louise Richardson, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, emphasized the important role of the arts and humanities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education. She said they can "underpin much of the work of the sciences if they are well integrated" and that it was her hope that SUSTech would continue to promote their integration into the undergraduate curriculum.

Caltech President Emeritus Chameau advised against the superficial division of fundamental research and applied science, and proposed that research institutions should "pay attention to quality over quantity" with regards to research output.

In his closing remarks, president Xue expressed his wholehearted wish that the next IAC meeting could take place on the SUSTech campus in Shenzhen. He hoped that future cooperation between SUSTech and its partner institutions may continue to be as fruitful as possible.