On March 24, 2026, AIT Belt and Road Research Center (BRRC) hosted visitors from Hope Education Group at the BRRC Office on AIT’s campus. The meeting, led by Dr. Wenchao Xue, Director of AIT BRRC, and Mr. Zhang Heqiang, Chief Representative for International Cooperation at Hope Education Group, brought together AIT alumni, Mr. Gao Zairong and Mr. Liu Zhongqiu. The objective was to explore potential collaboration between the two institutions in student cultivation, research, knowledge dissemination, and capacity building, with a shared vision of fostering educational partnerships between China and Southeast Asia.
During the meeting, both parties identified concrete areas for initial cooperation, including recruiting qualified graduates from Hope Education Group’s affiliated universities into AIT’s existing academic programs, leveraging the strengths of both parties. Longer-term possibilities were also discussed, such as jointly designing and delivering customized master’s and PhD programs in high-demand fields targeting Chinese students. To advance the partnership, Hope Education Group invited AIT to visit its universities in Chengdu, China in 2026 and proposed organizing an official delegation visit to AIT. Both sides agreed to work toward preparing and signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize their collaboration. The meeting concluded with mutual commitment to further discussions on financial models and program specifics, marking a promising step toward a robust and impactful educational alliance.