The 2024 World Digital Education Conference, jointly organised by the Ministry of Education, the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, was held in Shanghai. Themed ‘Digital Education: Application, Sharing, and Innovation’, the conference was attended by more than 800 delegates from home and abroad, including more than 400 guests from over 70 countries and regions, as well as international organisations. The opening ceremony also saw the inauguration of the World Digital Education Alliance, and the University of Macau (UM) was invited to become a member of the alliance. Yonghua Song, rector of UM, attended the conference and the inauguration ceremony of the alliance. During the parallel session on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics’, Song and leaders of several technology and internet enterprises and universities at home and abroad jointly launched an initiative titled ‘Artificial Intelligence Empowering Education Development’. The initiative encourages governments, international organisations, enterprises, research institutes, schools and other entities to join forces to promote the in-depth integration of AI and education and to foster the innovative development of education.
In addition, Song, together with Vice Rector Ge Wei and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Shen Hanming, visited Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). The delegation was warmly received by SJTU President Ding Kuiling and Vice President Xu Xuemin. Song expressed hope that the two universities will continue to strengthen their cooperation under the ‘C9+3+1’ framework. The UM delegation also visited Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) and held in-depth discussions with Fan Xianqun, vice president of SJTU and chancellor of SJTUSM, on strengthening cooperation between the two universities in the field of medicine.
