AEMG Education held its 9th International Education Management Conference (IEMC) from October 24 to 26, 2024, in Qingdao, Shandong Province. The theme of the event was “Cross-Border Education: Building Trust in a Complex World”. The conference brought together experts, scholars and policymakers in the field of education from all over the world, to discuss the development and future trends of international education.

In his keynote speech, Professor Ian Young, Chairman of AEMG Group’s Board of Directors, commented that joint programs will continue to be at the heart of Transnational Education (TNE) collaborations into the future. He emphasised that TNE has a key role to play in building an international talent pipeline, and that international education partnerships have benefits not only for students but also for staff. AEMG subsidiary, the Australian Institute for Future Education (AIFE), accredited by the Australian Government’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), has been specifically set up to offer high-level programs to improve the teaching and research capabilities of academic staff at Chinese universities.

Throughout the conference, there were many excellent keynote speeches. Leaders from Birkbeck, University of London; Northeast Forestry University; Northeastern University; University of Technology Sydney; Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics; University of Canterbury; Xi’an Polytechnic University; James Cook University; China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing); Swinburne University of Technology; Minnan Normal University; City University of Macau and other Sino-foreign cooperative universities took the stage. They shared their successful experiences and innovative practices in the field of international education, and had in-depth discussions regarding their current challenges and future prospects.

Of great success were the sub-plenary sessions, including ‘Research and Quality Development of Cross-border Education’, ‘Future Education and Women’s Leadership Forum’, ‘Success of Cross-border Education Partnerships’, and ‘Success of Students and Scholars in Cross-border Education’. In these discussions, participants were able to better understand developing trends in international education and consider what is required to build a more inclusive and high-quality international education system built on trust between collaborating institutions.

Overall, the conference provided a platform for global education professionals to meet and explore the future development of international education. This includes the optimal allocation of educational resources, improving the quality of transnational collaborations, promoting educational and cultural exchanges between different countries and regions, and enhancing mutual understanding and trust.

 We look forward to continuing to work with our partners in China and around the world to generate even more creative and constructive ideas for enhancing international education collaborations into the future.