Co-hosted by the National Innovation Center par Excellence (NICE) and World Association for Industrial and Technology Research Organizations (WAITRO), and co-organized by the Federation of Chinese Scholars in Australia (FOCSA), the 2026 Global Industrial Technology Innovation Conference & China-Australia Innovation Week has successfully concluded.
The Australian delegation featured an unprecedented high-calibre lineup, consisting of more than 30 academicians and more than ten sitting and former vice-chancellors. It stands out as one of the largest gatherings of senior Australian university experts visiting China in recent years.
The event comprised a plenary session, 12 thematic sub-forums and 7 regional outreach events covering seven cutting-edge sectors including AI, green and low-carbon development, advanced materials, integrated circuits and biomedicine, attracting over 1500 participants in total.
During the conference, the 2nd China-Australia Innovation Forum was held under the theme "AI-Driven Engineering Education-A New Chapter for China-Australia Cooperation". Centered on the transformation of engineering education in the artificial intelligence era and new pathways for bilateral collaboration, the forum featured keynote speeches delivered by Australian guests including Matthew Tonts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University, Christine Mathies, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South Wales, and Adam Bridgeman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney. Two roundtable discussions were arranged, namely "Transformation of Higher Education Paradigms in the AI Era" and "In-depth Influence of AI on Education in Specialized Fields", where numerous Chinese and Australian scholars shared insights on how AI reshapes engineering education.
In addition, multiple China-Australia special sessions focusing on energy and materials were organized throughout the conference, alongside regional outreach events held in Suzhou, Yancheng, Nanjing and other cities.
The whole event delivered abundant practical cooperation outcomes between China and Australia. Over 100 technical demands from domestic and overseas parties were matched, multiple international joint projects were set to be launched, and more than ten memorandums on joint talent training between Chinese and Australian universities were signed, further consolidating the foundation for scientific and technological innovation cooperation between the two nations.