http://edu.sina.com.cn/l/2004-08-06/78395.html

Beijing, Aug. 4 (Xinhua)--- The Second Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum opened at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing On the morning of August 4th.

State Councilor Chen Zhili addressed the opening ceremony. Presidents from about 100 renowned universities at home and abroad attended the ceremony.

The themes of the week-long forum were“Strategic Plans for University Development”and “University Scientific Research and Translation of Scientific and Technological Advances into Practical Productive Forces”. 14 presidents or experts from prestigious universities in foreign countries and Hong Kong, China attended and addressed the forum, among which were mainly presidents of world famous research universities including Yale University, Stanford University, Columbia University in the US as well as Cambridge University and Oxford University in the UK. The presidents from China participating in the forum were current presidents who came from 72 higher education institutions under the administration of the Ministry of Education of China, higher education institutions under the administration of other central ministries and local colleges entering into “211”project, 13 colleges in western China and 5 colleges in central China with strong support from the Ministry of Education. Presidents of some universities in Hong Kong were also invited to attend the forum.

More than 160 Chinese and foreign educators in the forum will be divided into groups to discuss around 6 themes: Discipline Construction and Human Resource Management, Management Framework and Operating Mechanism of Universities, Development Strategies for Universities of Different Types, Organizing and Promotion of Scientific Research, Transformation Mechanism of Research Findings, and Close Links between Universities and Enterprises.

The first Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum was held in Beijing in July, 2002, on the theme of “How to lead and manage a university well”, attended by 82 Chinese presidents and 16 foreign presidents from universities around the world.

(By Liaolei, Wujing and Xiong Zhengyan)