[한국대학신문 이정환 기자] On September 21, President Park Sang-Gue of Chung-Ang University was invited as Korea’s sole representative to deliver the keynote speech at the International Conference on the Development of Engineering Education, hosted by Tianjin University in China.

The conference, held to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Tianjin University, brought together university leaders from around the world, including the presidents of Cardiff University, Heriot-Watt University, and Brunel University London in the United Kingdom, as well as the presidents of Tongji University, Chongqing University, and Beijing University of Technology in China. Participants discussed the current state and future directions of engineering education.

As the only Korean university invited, President Park presented Korea’s engineering education system and accreditation, along with Chung-Ang University’s STEM education initiatives and engineering research achievements, attracting great interest from the audience.

In addition, a separate session was held at Tianjin University of the signing ceremony of the renewed cooperation agreement between the two institutions. Since the initial agreement in 2015, Chung-Ang University and Tianjin University have actively promoted research collaboration and student exchange. The renewed agreement is expected to further advance joint research in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology.

Chai Liyuan, President of Tianjin University, expressed his appreciation, stating, “We are truly grateful to President Park Sang-Gue of Chung-Ang University for joining the conference and delivering such an impressive presentation on Korea’s engineering education. Over the past decade since the first agreement, our two universities have achieved remarkable outcomes across various areas of collaboration. With this renewed agreement, we look forward to even more dynamic cooperation and research.”

President Park remarked, “It is both an honor and a privilege to represent Korean higher education at this international conference hosted by Tianjin University. I am grateful for the opportunity to share the current status and advancements in Korea’s engineering education with distinguished leaders from China and around the world. I look forward to even more active exchanges between our faculty members and students in the years ahead.”

Founded in 1895, Tianjin University is China’s first modern university, currently enrolling 19,103 undergraduate students and 21,173 graduate students. Notably, 15 disciplines rank in the top 1% of the Essential Science Indicators(ESI), with five fields within the top 0.1%, and engineering and chemistry reaching the global top 0.01%.