The Sino-US Higher Education Cooperation & Exchange Forum opened on October 28 at Hangzhou’s Normal University, reported Hangzhou Daily.

About 20 university presidents from China and the US attended this forum and discussed various influences on higher education and opportunities for cooperation between US and Chinese higher education institutions made possible by internationalization.

At the forum topics related to the internationalization were discussed. The high internationalization level of the education that reflects the soft power of a university has become a competitive advantage of a university.

Ye Gaoxiang, president of the Hangzhou Normal University, and Downing A. Thomas, vice president of the University of Iowa, both agreed that internationalization is the trend of the higher education, and international students play an important role in the international communication for they not only bring themselves global perspectives but also diversify the university culture.

By 2015, international students will account for over 10 percent of the students at Hangzhou’s Normal University, and every year 500 students and staff will be sent to study abroad, said Ye. The University of Iowa will target 30 percent of international students by 2015.

By Xie Fang and Wang Gongyuan