Peking University, Dec 4, 2013: The first EU-CHINA DOC Conference and Workshop on EU-China Dialogue and Cooperation in doctoral education was held in Beijing at PKU during November 26-27, 2013.

Policy makers, university leadership, doctoral education directors, and representatives of professors and doctoral candidates were present at the conference, which offered an excellent opportunity to exchange views, discuss collaboration issues, and establish joint actions among European and Chinese key players.

EU-CHINA DOC Conference & Workshop

Professor Min Weifang gave a welcome address as a Chinese representative. "As an important part of higher education, doctoral education is a key driver for national knowledge innovation system and cultivation of innovative talents in the new age of the 'knowledge-based economy'." he said, "Based on China's higher education practice and the status quo of our university, PKU will further promote EU-China cooperation in doctoral education. We will improve the education level by learning advanced concepts and strengthening practical and theoretical researches."

Professor Min Weifang

Another welcome address was given by the European representative Professor Jan Cornelis, Vice Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. "International cooperation is a significant strategy in the development of research universities." said Professor Cornelis, "A cooperation platform needs to be established. The EU-CHINA DOC project is a good sample. It aims to facilitate cooperation and collaboration in the field of higher education in the EU and China." He believed that the project would open up space for dialogue and cooperation on a wide range of issues related to doctoral education, bringing real benefits to both European and Chinese higher education institutions.

Professor Jan Cornelis

Professor Melita Kovacevic, Chair of the EUA-CDE Steering Committee, gave a keynote speech titled “The Salzburg Principles as the basis of the reforms for European doctoral education” in the afternoon session.

Professor Melita Kovacevic

Three parallel workshops were held on the second day of the conference, which themed on Doctoral Education policies, Doctoral Education Structures and The outcome of doctoral education respectively.

Background info:

The EU-CHINA project is a new Erasmus Mundus Project supported by the European Commission to strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between European and Chinese stakeholders in the field of doctoral education. The project is implemented by a strong and prestigious partnership with the following partners:

Vrije Universiteit, Brussel (VUB), Belgium
Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) , Belgium
University of Vienna (UniVie), Austria
University of Tampere (UTA), Finland
University of Stockholm (SU), Sweden
Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC), Belgium
China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), China
Beijing Normal University (BNU), China
Peking University(PKU), China
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China
Southwest University (SWU), China

Written by: Meng Yiran
Edited by: Zhu Wenjia
Source: PKU News (Chinese)