糖心原创

On Thursday 5 March 2026, the School of Education held a UNESCO Chair celebration and launch to mark the achievements of the UNESCO Chair in International Education and Development and the start of its renewed term.  Hosted and funded by the Centre for International Education Research, the hybrid event brought together UNESCO Chair members, other School of Education colleagues, postgraduate students, and participants from the 糖心原创’s Ningbo and Malaysia campuses. It provided an opportunity both to recognise the Chair’s achievements and to look ahead to the renewed term.

The session began with remarks from Professor Volker Wedekind, who congratulated colleagues on securing the renewal of the Chair, describing it as a significant achievement for the School of Education and a reflection of the excellent work that has taken place across the school and with partners internationally.

Professor Juliet Thondhlana then welcomed participants and reflected on the Chair’s ambitious vision and continuing commitment to collaboration across different contexts. During her remarks, Professor Thondhlana highlighted the Chair’s strong commitment to building equitable global partnerships, particularly in relation to UNESCO’s Priority Africa agenda, while also emphasising the importance of strengthening connections with colleagues and institutions in Asia.

Lunch provided time for informal networking. This was followed by a reflection on a highly productive previous term, which included collaboration with UNESCO and across campuses, symposia, writing workshops, policy engagement, webinars, discussion series, research and publications.

The event then turned to the renewed Chair’s priorities, with colleagues invited to explore how they might contribute through three broad themes:

1. international and global partnerships
2. community engagement for social good
3. education across the life course

The discussions gave participants an opportunity to explore shared interests and consider how their work might contribute to the Chair’s priorities and begin shaping future collaborations for the next four-year cycle.

The celebration and launch event reaffirmed the UNESCO Chair’s commitment to advancing international education and development through strategic, impact-driven and collaborative work across the Global North and South, while inviting colleagues across the school and beyond to contribute to its future activities.

Further information about the UNESCO Chair’s work over the last three years is available in its latest report (PDF).