Recently, a delegation from our university was invited to attend the QS 2025 Asia-Pacific Higher Education Summit held at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. With the theme “Unlocking Generational Potential: Skills and Collaboration in the Asia-Pacific”，the summit gathered over 1,500 representatives from the global higher education sector, including internationally renowned experts such as Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Patrick Brothers, Executive Director of QS. Members of our university's delegation included leaders and relevant personnel from the Office of Discipline Development, the College of Chemical Engineering, and the College of Materials Science and Engineering.

During the summit, our university set up special exhibition booths for the disciplines of Chemical Engineering & Technology and Materials Science & Engineering, with a focus on showcasing the distinctive strengths of the Chemical Engineering & Technology discipline. Delegation members systematically introduced the discipline's research progress and recent innovative achievements in fields such as membrane materials and membrane processes, and green chemical engineering technologies, as well as the practical applications of related technologies in energy, environmental protection and other areas. This demonstrated the complete innovation chain of the university's chemical engineering discipline from basic research to industrial transformation, effectively highlighting its capability to serve national major needs and industry development, and attracting the attention of participating universities. Making its debut at the summit, the Materials Science and Engineering discipline also garnered interest from peers through its displays of research areas including intelligent gel materials and structures, and optoelectronic information materials and devices.

The delegation held bilateral talks with Jereon Prinsen, President of QS Asia-Pacific, and his team. Both parties intend to explore further cooperation in three aspects: international benchmarking analysis of advantageous disciplines, co-hosting international conferences, and optimizing discipline exhibition plans. In addition, the delegation established connections with representatives from multiple universities in the Asia-Pacific region, and discussed potential cooperation in student exchange, scientific research collaboration, and faculty mutual visits.

Authors: Office of Discipline Development, College of Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering; Reviewers: Zhong Zhaoxiang, Ju Yonggan, Cui Sheng