UNESCO int'l center for engineering education unveiled in Beijing

An international center for engineering education under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was established Monday.

The center was unveiled following the signing of an agreement on the matter by Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, and Zhou Ji, president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

The center will become a high-level educational base for engineers to benefit developing countries through broad cooperation, according to the CAE.

The CAE said the center's missions include nurturing talent in engineering technology and promoting quality and fairness in engineering education.

According to the CAE, the secretariat is located at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Qiu Yong, President of Tsinghua University, said engineering education is facing challenges, including how to attract more youth to engineering majors and how to train skilled engineers in developing nations.

Zhou said, "The CAE will work with Tsinghua University to fulfill the tasks entrusted by the UNESCO to contribute to global engineering education." Endi