Smart Learning Institute

On December 18^th, 2021 (GMT+8), the opening ceremony of the Global Finals of 2021 Global Competition on Design for Future Education was held successfully. Hosted by Beijing Normal University (BNU), the Competition is co-organized by universities at home and abroad, scientific institutions, student unions and well-known enterprises with the theme of inclusive education. Mr. Zuoyu Zhou, Vice President of BNU; Mr. Keiichi Kawate, Vice President of Tokyo Gakugei University (TGU), and Mr. Yiyu Ding, Distinguished Expert of Beijing Design Society delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Then, the certificates of appointment were presented to all mentors by Mr. Kecan Shi, Secretary of the Party Committee of Faculty of Education, BNU; Mr. Yujun Wu, Director of Office of International Exchange & Cooperation, BNU and Ms. Chunrong Liu, Deputy Director of Faculty of Psychology, BNU. Finally, Mr. Ronghuai Huang, Co-Dean of Smart Learning Institute of BNU, announced the opening of 48H Finals.
   
At the opening ceremony, Mr. Zuoyu Zhou expressed that Beijing Normal University was willing to accumulate innovative achievements in education across the world, as well as gain help from educational, scientific and design community to improve those achievements by hosting the Competition as a communication platform for innovative talents.
   
Mr. Keiichi Kawate believed that through the Competition, students from different countries can communicate with each other and think actively, seeking solutions to develop innovative education. The outbreak of COVID-19 has pushed countries to think upon the education in the pandemic. Japan attached great importance to the education in crisis, hoping that students can communicate with and learn from each other to design more practical projects.
   
Mr. Yiyu Ding pointed out that as special cooperative organization of the Competition, Beijing Design Society has provided all-round support in terms of theoretical guidance and platform construction since the beginning, actively promoting the integration of design and education. Also, he expressed his hope that more teachers and students across the world could participate in the process of educational design and innovation, jointly exploring the development of future education.
 
The Global Finals will last for three days, from December 18^th to 20^th, 2021, including Teacher Roadshow, Student Roadshow, 48H Finals, Closing Ceremony, etc.
     
Since Beijing Normal University initiated the Global Competition on Design for Future Education in 2018, it has received widespread attention and enthusiastic response from all over the world. Mr. Mingyuan Gu, Faculty of Education of Beijing Normal University, and Mr. Guanzhong Liu, Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University serve as general counsels of the Competition. Also, experts from universities and enterprises serve as mentors. In 2021, the Competition adds another catalogue which is for teachers, attracting over 100 universities and 100 primary and secondary schools from more than 10 countries including China, USA, UK, Italy, Japan, Korea, etc. In the end, the finalists of the Competition include 23 case-studies from primary and secondary schools and 18 students’ projects.