In March this year, the Chinese Government, led by State Councillor Ms Liu Yandong, and Minister for Education (MoE), Yuan Guiren, held their annual high level education meeting, titled the Work Conference of All Round Enhancement of Higher Education Quality. The conference was attended by National and Provincial Government leaders, members of the State Education Consultative Committee and representatives from Chinese Universities. The purpose of the conference is to continue reform outlined in the 10 year plan, as well as address issues raised in President Hu Jintao’s speech at Tsinghua University in 2011.
Discussions at the conference were framed within the context of Higher Education development in China moving from enlarging scale to improving quality. Key discussion areas included:
• Improving quality is a core and urgent task for reform and development of higher education.
• Quality in Chinese Universities is measured by the standard of the graduates from those institutions, particularly at the undergraduate level. Higher quality graduates will be developed by improving teacher quality, and increasing students’ innovation and practical skills.
• Strengthening collaborative innovation is also key in improving Higher Education quality, and is important in improving China’s innovation ability, cultivating individual talent and enhancing the strength of scientific research.
At the conference, the MoE also presented an overview of a significant new initiative, the Project for Higher Education Innovative Capacity Improvement Scheme, widely known as the
2011 Project.