On February 25, 2025, UNESCO-ICHEI convened a cooperation meeting with BGI at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Convention Center. The discussions centered on integrating and sharing international industry-academia-research resources, co-developing educational resources, and fostering joint international events. Both sides concluded the meeting with several strategic partnership commitments.

Group photo of attendees

Bi Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, provided a comprehensive overview of the UNESCO-ICHEI’s main projects. She underscored efforts to build the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) global partnership network and digital learning platform for the global higher education workforce, alongside initiatives to advance multilateral university-enterprise collaboration, establish regional and international dialogue platforms, and pursue joint research and knowledge-sharing. Sit Fung, Assistant Director and Chief of the IIOE Management Centre at UNESCO-ICHEI, followed with an in-depth report on the UNESCO-ICHEI’s key projects and initiatives for 2025.

Bi Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI

Sit Fung, Assistant Director and Chief of the IIOE Management Centre at UNESCO-ICHEI

Xiao Minfeng, Vice Dean of BGI College and Researcher at BGI-Research, offered a thorough presentation of BGI’s global strategic framework and educational endeavors. She highlighted achievements in professional certification, thematic courses, tailored educational solutions, the X-omics online learning platform, and international cooperation outcomes with concrete case studies. Jiang Xiaosen, Deputy Director of BGI’s Board Office, presented a focused report on BGI’s pioneering educational approaches in the domain of “Artificial Intelligence + Business Intelligence”.

Xiao Minfeng, Vice Dean of BGI College and Researcher at BGI-Research

Jiang Xiaosen, Deputy Director of BGI’s Board Office

Wang Jian, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BGI, expressed his anticipation of collaborating with UNESCO-ICHEI in areas such as partner network and expert resource integration, course co-development, international alliance building, and sponsorship of awards. Additionally, through this cooperation, the two sides aim to leverage genetic technology to eliminate rare diseases, achieve global well-being accessible to all, and promote global development.

Wang Jian, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BGI

Yin Ye, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of BGI, outlined a practical framework for South-South cooperation with UNESCO-ICHEI. This includes leveraging the IIOE learning platform and IIOE National Center mechanisms, as well as the Smart Classroom project, combining BGI’s expertise and course resources to offer multilingual training programmes and support talent development in developing countries.

Yin Ye, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of BGI

Liu Qingsheng, former member of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee and former Executive Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, noted that BGI, as a global leader in life sciences, and UNESCO-ICHEI, as Shenzhen’s first and only Category II center of a United Nations (UN) specialized agency, are aligning at a critical juncture. This partnership holds the potential to set a benchmark for global higher education innovation.

Liu Qingsheng, former member of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee and former Executive Vice Mayor of Shenzhen

Li Ming, Founding Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and former Secretary of Party Affairs Committee of SUSTech, suggested that the two parties sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and engage in practical cooperation in areas such co-developing and sharing Micro-certification course resources, sponsoring the IIOE Higher Education Digitalisation Pioneer Case Award, initiating the co-establishment of an International Life Sciences Education Alliance, and carrying out South-South cooperation.

Li Ming, Founding Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and former Secretary of Party Committee of SUSTech

Both parties arrived at a preliminary agreement on key initiatives, including signing the MOU, co-developing IIOE Micro-certification courses on "AI + Life Sciences", and sponsoring the UNESCO-ICHEI IIOE Higher Education Digitalisation Pioneer Case Award to bolster innovative practices among UNESCO-ICHEI’s global partners. This meeting signifies a vital milestone in the international collaboration between UNESCO-ICHEI and BGI. Drawing on their distinct capabilities, the two sides will combine digitalization and life sciences to enhance equity and excellence in global higher education. In the future, their joint efforts are expected to reach over 100 countries and regions via the IIOE platform, offering Chinese insights to support the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.

On-site photo

About BGI

Founded in 1999, BGI is one of the world's leading life science and genomics organizations. BGI's mission is to use genomics to benefit mankind and to be a leader in the era of life sciences. BGI follows a genomics development model of "research, production and application". With businesses in more than 100 countries and regions around the world, BGI has established cooperation and partnerships with thousands of different organizations across multi-disciplinary research areas including medical health, resource conservation and judicial services. At the same time, BGI provides equipment, technical support and solutions for the needs of national economies and people's livelihoods, such as precision medicine and precision health. BGI is committed to applying its genetic and technological achievements to real world settings in order to realize the dream of trans-omics for a better life.