Li Jiayi

1791055526@qq.com

THE Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) hosted its 2026 Spring Global Partner Day on Saturday, marking the first major international education exchange event in Shenzhen’s higher education sector this year — the APEC “China Year.”

The gathering saw the participation of 49 distinguished guests from 32 leading universities across 19 countries and regions. Notably, over 80% of the international guests were visiting Shenzhen for the first time.

In his opening address, CUHK-Shenzhen’s vice president Zhu Shiping reflected on the university’s rapid evolution over the past 12 years. The university now has eight academic schools, one graduate school, and eight residential colleges, with more than 12,000 students.

Prof. Li Haizhou, dean of the School of AI, delivered a keynote address outlining global AI trends and the university’s evolving AI ecosystem. He highlighted interdisciplinary programs, campus-wide AI applications, and breakthroughs in speech information processing and human-computer interaction, underscoring the university’s commitment to innovation-driven education and research.

Oscar Jané Checa, vice rector for International Relations at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, expressed strong interest in expanding cooperation.

“More and more European students want to come to Asia, especially to China,” he said. “The upcoming APEC meetings will create opportunities for us to strengthen ties with universities in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.”

Paul Ke, director of the Office of Academic Links at CUHK-Shenzhen, said the event provided overseas partners with firsthand exposure to the city.

“We are excited about APEC taking place in Shenzhen. This Global Partner Day serves an excellent platform for our guests to experience the real Shenzhen,” he said.

To date, CUHK-Shenzhen has established substantive partnerships with 163 institutions across 37 countries and regions.