On the morning of April 17, the kick-off meeting for the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) Strategic Research and Consulting Project ‘Research on China-Africa Win-Win International Talent Cultivation System,’ hosted by Central South University, was held in Changsha. Attending the meeting were CAE Academicians Tian Hongqi, Chen Xiaohong (online), Zou Xuexiao, Chai Liyuan (online), and Wu Yiqiang; Wang Zhenhai, former Director of the Second Bureau of the CAE; and Li Zhihong, Vice President of Central South University. Experts from the China-Africa Institute and the Data Space Institute, along with heads of relevant university units and the three major disciplinary clusters, participated in the meeting. Huang Helai, Dean of the School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering at Central South University, presided over the meeting.

Vice President Li Zhihong and Ma Shoulei, Director of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered speeches respectively, congratulating the launch of the project. The project aims to respond to national strategic needs and deepen international cooperation. It focuses on leveraging Central South University’s strengths in fields such as medicine, transportation, and mining to develop international talent cultivation. By analyzing the talent demands of key industries in Africa, the project will explore models for the coordinated development of industry and education, promote China-Africa educational cooperation, advance Africa’s industrialization process, and enhance China’s soft power internationally.

During the meeting, the project team reported on the research background, project content and plan, and schedule. The attending academicians and experts affirmed the research plan and provided constructive opinions and suggestions from perspectives including strategic positioning, research approaches and directions, key areas, and international vision. Project leader Tian Hongqi stated that the project team would collate the opinions of the participating experts, grasp policy and strategic directions, refine the work plan, propose effective recommendations, and actively advance subsequent project work.

First Review: Yuanyuhao Wang  Second Review: Yingli Li Third Review: Yong Peng