On April 18-19, the Inaugural Council Meeting of the Higher Education Digitalization Specialized Committee under the China Private Education Association (CPEA) and the First Forum on Digital Innovation in Higher Education were held in Sanya. Professor Wang Guiyun from Shandong Xiehe University was elected as the Vice Chair of the First Council and delivered a thematic presentation at the forum.

       In her speech, Professor Wang comprehensively analyzed the strategic significance of educational digitalization for national development. She underscored that digital transformation is not only a catalyst for transcending the spatial-temporal constraints of education and reshaping its ecosystem but also a pivotal opportunity for private universities to achieve transformative growth. She emphasized four strategic priorities: building smart campuses, enhancing digital literacy, innovating pedagogical models, and deepening industry-academia-research-application integration. By advancing holistic digital reforms across all processes, she advocated establishing a future-ready, high-quality education system.
      Regarding practical implementation, Professor Wang outlined four pathways:
      1.Developing 5G-enabled and cloud-network-integrated smart campus infrastructure to establish data-driven precision management platforms;
      2.Launching faculty digital competency programs with training systems spanning instructional design, technology integration, and data governance;
      3.Creating immersive learning ecosystems through virtual simulation labs and Extended Reality (XR) courses, powered by knowledge graph-driven personalized learning;
      4.Building digital innovation platforms for industry-education collaboration, focusing on key technologies like intelligent educational tools and big data analytics.
      She reaffirmed that as a council vice chair institution, Shandong Xiehe University pledges to collaborate with private universities nationwide in driving digital transformation and advancing the high-quality development of China’s private higher education sector.
      The meeting reviewed and approved the committee’s operational regulations and work priorities. Representatives from six private universities delivered exemplary speeches, with participation from over 200 attendees representing more than 100 private institutions nationwide.(Zhou Xiaona, Academic Affairs Office; translated by Wang Xin)