From November 23rd to 24th, the 2019 Education Forum for Asia Annual Conference hosted by the China Association of Higher Education and the People’s Government of Chengdu Municipality was opened at Century City New International Convention Center (Chengdu, China). In order to honor and encourage vocational colleges with outstanding contributions and strong international influence in the Asia-Pacific vocational education scene, and to promote the development of vocational education cooperation and cultural exchanges, the Organizing Committee of the Education Forum for Asia carried out the selection of “Influence Top 50 in Vocational Education” in the region. SUCC, due to its active explorations in the fields of building a high-quality school, serving the Belt and Road construction, deepening international education cooperation, and setting up overseas branches to output curriculum standards, was awarded a place on the list.

On behalf of SUCC, President Ye Yinzhong received the award and an exclusive interview with the media. He shared SUCC’s emphases, including new concepts, new standards, and new ideas concerning international exchange and cooperation under constantly changing and new situations. The interview was conducted with China Youth Daily, SOHU, West China City Daily, and other media outlets. The next day, Mr. Ye Yinzhong introduced SUCC’s development history and direction while explaining its main ideas and practices in terms of international exchanges and cooperation with participants of the “International Exchanges Promotes the High-Quality Development of Vocational Colleges” program.

Relying on its professional strengths and advantages, SUCC has formulated an excellent layout for the future, advanced gradually, and improved its institution as a whole through the driving forces mentioned here. In recent years, SUCC continues to explore international programs that are serving the Belt and Road Initiative, opening “Advanced Seminars on Infrastructure for International Talents” and the “Lu Ban School”, setting up overseas branches, recruiting international students, starting vocational education cooperation programs in African countries, initiating the establishment of the China-UK Vocational Education Cooperation and Development Committee, benchmarking international standards for program certifications and teacher-oriented professional training, cooperating with the BFW (Germany), GIZ, and other companies, establishing in-depth cooperation based on German construction industry standards, having Sino-US and Sino-Canadian cooperation through school programs, working with Japanese institutions in the fields of senior care and management, and working with UNLV in the field of hotel management.

The “Influence Top 50 in Vocational Education” selection campaign was launched in September of this year and lasted nearly 3 months. After going through the application, initial evaluation, re-evaluation, and a third-party final review, a total of 40 Chinese vocational colleges and 10 vocational colleges in other Asia Pacific countries and regions were selected from more than 100 applicants (colleges). The award is a major breakthrough for SUCC in the field of international exchanges and a strong driving force that deepens this type of international exchange programs in the future.

SUCC will combine the new internationalization requirements of the High-level Vocational Schools with Chinese Characteristics and Professional Construction Plan, one that explores internationally accepted professional standards and curriculum systems and effectively unifies international and local educational resources. Meanwhile, relying on its overseas branches, SUCC will consolidate educational standards that conform to international norms and highlight China’s advantages. These branches will also pay special attention to both Chinese characteristics and international standards, and realize the benign interaction between “bringing in” and “going out”. Moreover, SUCC will strengthen the theoretical refinement and summarization of development concepts, teaching methods, teaching models, management mechanisms, and management methods. It will also implement localization and transformation according to conditions such as industrial and occupational characteristics in developing countries while enhancing the spread of Chinese vocational education around the world, giving China a voice in the international community.

Founded in December 2003, the Education Forum for Asia was initiated by seven former politicians and representatives of international organizations, including Fidel Valdez Ramos (the President of the Boao Forum for Asia and former President of the Philippines). So far, a total of 16 international annual sessions (incl. the initiators conference) have been successfully held. The event has increasingly become a high-level platform for exchanges, cooperation and development between politicians, experts, scholars, institutions, and international organizations in the Asian region. At present, the influence of the Education Forum for Asia is not limited to the Asian region, but has also spread to the Pacific, Europe, and the United States. It has become the highest-standard and most authoritative regional international education exchange and cooperation platform for education dialogue and played an important role in improving the education level in Asia. Thus, it has also improved the people’s quality, social prosperity and harmonious development of Asia.