The "Excellence 9" League Presidents Forum 2016, which was also the Seventh Session of the Joint Meeting of University Presidents, was held in Dalian on Dec 16, 2016. Delegates of the Excellence 9 member universities reached an agreement on guidelines and the future development direction of the league.

The theme of the forum was "Facing the 'Double First-class' Strategy: New Concepts, New approaches, New Strategies of E9". Attendees discussed mechanisms for "double first-class" and innovation-oriented cooperation and "excellence talents" cultivation.

Presidents of the E9 member universities pose for a photo while attending the forum. [Photo/Dalian University of Technology]

During the forum, Prof. Guo Dongming, president of Dalian University of Technology, expressed his appreciation of the significance and importance of the cooperation among the E9 members in talents cultivation, joint construction of teaching and research teams, coordinated innovation, international collaboration and exchange, education reform and cultural preservation and innovation.

Prof. Guo Dongming, president of Dalian University of Technology delivers a welcome speech at the Joint Meeting of University Presidents. [Photo/Dalian University of Technology]

The E9 league also deliberated on and passed a draft of the Excellence University League (E9) Action Plan (2016-2020) at the forum, which focuses on further promoting and consolidating influences of the E9 in several aspects in other colleges, including graduates and postgraduates cultivation, expanding enrollment, developing collaborative innovation among E9 members and other universities, sharing resources, enriching teaching teams and constructing E9 culture.

Prof. Zhong Denghua, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University,delivers a speech at the forum. [Photo/Dalian University of Technology]

Prof. Zhong Denghua, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University, proposed that the key to evaluate a world first-class university was to look at its real contributions to specific fields.

"The purpose of cultivating world-class talents is to promote economic development and social progress, and the achievements of world-class research should give birth to new theories, technological reforms, and new industries," Zhong said, "a world-class campus culture should also inspire and enlighten our society."

"Engineers graduating from our universities should not only be engineers but also men and women of integrity," said Prof. Hu Haiyan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the Beijing Institute of Technology. He added, "Excellence 9, with its unparalleled advantage in disciplines of science and technology, should foster innovative and competitive talents with not only local and global views, but integrity and fine self-cultivation."

Prof. Zhang Guangjun, president of Southeast University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said "Innovation is the soul of a world-class university, while continuous institutional innovation is the source of its vitality and creativity."

Excellence 9, established in 2010, is an alliance of nine universities of science and technology in China.

The league adheres to the principle of "Share Resources and Seek Excellence" and sets teaching goals in accordance with the needs of students and requirements of China's policies. The league's purpose is to contribute to the development of China's higher education and enhance the influence of China's universities around the world.