Thought leaders and presidents from the world's top universities met online in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last week to discuss, analyze and provide advice to one of South China's new research and higher education powerhouses.

The 2021 meeting of the International Advisory Council of Southern University of Science and Technology took place on Dec 9 over two sessions, with 17 influential presidents and academic leaders from across the globe raising opportunities, options and risk management advice for the university－which is also known as SUSTech－and Chinese higher education in general on its continuous development.

SUSTech President Xue Qikun delivered a report to the International Advisory Council－or IAC－members, which explored the university's highlights since the previous IAC meeting in 2018, the progress made over the past three years, new opportunities and initiatives, and the university's vision and goals for the future.

He specifically outlined the new strategic plan for scientific breakthroughs in fundamental research and the key applied technology development plan.

Southern University of Science and Technology, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is one of the top research universities in South China, despite being only 11 years old. YANG YUXUAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

IAC chair since 2012, Henry T.Yang, chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara, gave the opening remarks and chaired the discussion in the Asia-Pacific session, while Max Lu, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey, chaired the Eurasia session.

Jean-Lou Chameau, president emeritus of the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, said he is enthusiastic about SUSTech's undergraduate curriculum, believing that it is "one of the most innovative" and stating that he uses it as an example when advising other young universities across the world on curriculum design.

President of Rice University, David Leebron, said that it is remarkable that "in 10 years you have built a university roughly speaking on the scale of Rice university", a nearly 110-year-old institution, and specifically thanked SUSTech for hosting Rice students unable to travel to the US during the pandemic.

He said the "Global Embracement" program helped over 500 students of overseas universities, including Rice, to continue their online studies on the SUSTech campus rather than at home. Such collaboration will also lead to deepening partnerships between Chinese universities and the rest of the world in the post-pandemic era.